Acid reflux disease, commonly referred to as GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a condition where by the liquid content of the stomach backs up into the esophagus. The contents can inflame the lining of the esophagus. Though visible signs of inflammation occur in a minority of patients. The regurgitated liquid mostly contains acid and pepsin that are produced by the stomach. Pepsin is an enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins in the stomach. The refluxed liquid also may contain bile that has gone-up into the stomach from the duodenum. Acid reflux disease affects more than 20% of Americans. At least 80% of the 60 million U.S. citizens who have been diagnosed with acid reflux disease describe being worse at night, and three out of four say they routinely wake up from sleep because of it.
This connection between sleep apnea and acid reflux makes good sense because when you’re awake, gravity helps keep acids required to digest food down where they belong, in the stomach. But when you’re lying down, these acids can leak back into the esophagus, irritating its lining and significantly boosting the risk of esophageal cancer.
Some researchers believe that sleep apnea results in airway pressure changes that can cause acid reflux to occur, still other researchers believe that the reflux of acids may be a result of spasms of the vocal cords that can then lead to sleep apnea.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a widespread disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.
The Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They often occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Usually, Typically, normal breathing then begins again, from time to time with a loud snort or choking noise.
Sleep apnea usually is a chronic that disrupts your sleep 3 or more nights a week.
This problem results in poor sleep quality that makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
When you’reawake, your throat muscles help keep your airway stiff and open so air can flow into your lungs easily. When you sleep, these muscles are more relaxed. Usually, the relaxed throat muscles don’t stop the airway from staying open to allow air into the lungs.
Acid reflux is usually a chronic condition. After it begins, it usually is life-long. If you have injury to the lining of the esophagus this also is a chronic condition. There are a lot of different acid reflux treatments you can consider using. One of these is Zantac .
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