Acid Reflux and Sleep

7 Practical Tips for Room-Sharing Reading Acid Reflux and Sleep 2 minutes Next How Nanit Will Change the Way You View Your Child's Sleep

By Chase Scheinbaum

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The last thing you and your baby need is anything that might detract from them getting a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately for some infants, acid reflux can do just that, resulting in sleepless nights (and some uncomfortable days, too).

Acid reflux occurs when food from the stomach comes back up into the baby’s mouth, causing spit up or vomit. Even in a healthy baby, this occurs several times a day, but when it happens too often it can lead to weight loss and other problems, including sleeplessness.

If you’re concerned that your baby may have acid reflux, also called gastroesophageal reflux, or GER, by all means consult your pediatrician. (In rare cases, babies may suffer from a similar but worse condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.)

The good news is that after emerging around the four-month mark, infant acid reflux generally disappears by 18 months. The other good news is that there are indeed things you can do to help make your baby more comfortable and sleep better if they develop this condition.

Make the Night’s Last Feeding Earlier

You may want to give your baby her last feeding earlier than usual to allow more time for the food to settle before she lies down. Ditto for feedings before naps. Giving the baby around 30 minutes to digest should increase the chances of food staying down and them making it through the night.

Feed the Baby Smaller, More Frequent Meals

Giving the baby smaller amounts of food at a time — but feeding them more frequently — might

help them digest more of their food and prevent acid reflux. This way, the baby can get all the nutrition their growing body requires without filling their little tummies too much at any given time.

Try to Avoid Establishing Negative Sleep Associations

With frequent nighttime wakings, it may be tempting to soothe your baby to sleep quite often. While babies do need comforting, you may want to be mindful that it’s better for everyone if the baby does not develop negative sleep associations — anything external he or she must rely on to fall asleep.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Natalie Barnett, PhD serves as VP of Clinical Research at Nanit. Natalie initiated sleep research collaborations at Nanit and in her current role, Natalie oversees collaborations with researchers at hospitals and universities around the world who use the Nanit camera to better understand pediatric sleep and leads the internal sleep and development research programs at Nanit. Natalie holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of New England in Australia and a Postgraduate Certificate in Pediatric Sleep Science from the University of Western Australia. Natalie was an Assistant Professor in the Neurogenetics Unit at NYU School of Medicine prior to joining Nanit. Natalie is also the voice of Nanit's science-backed, personalized sleep tips delivered to users throughout their baby's first few years.

Mackenzie Sangster is on the Brand and Community team at Nanit. She supports content development and editing for Nanit’s Parent Confidently blog as well as other marketing initiatives. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her friends, cooking, being active, and using the Pro + Flex Duo to keep an eye on her fur-baby, Poppy!

Holly Hays is a contributor and writer for Nanit, channeling her years as a mama and former magazine editor to create fun, useful content for fellow busy, trying-to-do-their-best parents and caregivers. Holly has written for a wide range of brands and media outlets (Ergobaby, HGTV, Manhattan Toy Company, OXO), loves to cook and read mystery novels, and leans heavily on her two daughters to keep her up to date on all the latest slang.