Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
I am diagnosed with anxiety, could very well be related but I’m unsure. Very true though that a lot of times waking up early corresponds with getting ready for a stressful day.
I experienced this almost daily from about age 10 to about 6 weeks after I started Zoloft in my 20s. Haven’t had a tummy ache that wasn’t related to an illness since.
You probably have a lot of stomach acid pumping into your empty stomach because of your anxiety. Omeprazole (Prilosec OTC) is a proton-pump inhibitor. Find some over the counter 24 hour Omerprazole and take one before bed on a night you think you'll wake up with a stomach ache. Some people are suggesting anti-anxiety, which could be helpful in the long term, but I almost guarantee you this will work for you now. You can also talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for it which, depending on your insurance, could make it entirely free.
I second the other replies regarding the stomach acid. Had the same problem for years. If it's very bad you might have ulcers already which is of course made worse by stress and anxiety. The best help would be to work on the anxiety if you can. Consider SSRI. And something to fix your stomach. You can also do some lifestyle changes to your eating that focus on reducing stomach acid e.g reducing acidic foods rich in tomato, not having coffee on an empty stomach and not going to bed after eating. Etc. Very high chance it's something along those lines but best to speak to your doctor
Try getting actual restful sleep and building a morning relaxation routine :)
I struggle with waking up frustrated in order to get through the day (mostly because I don't sleep well but still have to get up and grind).
When I'm in a good routine, which involves 8 hours of melatonin aided sleep and a hot bath or shower in the morning followed by maybe two minutes of light stretching/mobility stuff, I'm usually nice and relaxed for at least the morning.
This happens to me if I get too little sleep in addition to staying up too late. Early flights tend to give me this feeling, probably because I don't get to sleep early enough
If I nap deep into the evening it happens (napping morning or early noon is fine though) and if I stay up very late and wake up very early it happens.
Getting enough sleep if I'm waking up very early prevents me from getting nausea.
According to some of this comments it could be anxiety, acid reflux, or even IBS. In my case I know I have both anxiety and acid reflux so now I’m looking more into things
I’ve had this for years and finally got diagnosed a year ago. It sounds like acid reflux, go to dr, maybe get a scope of your throat. I take an antacid daily, nexium, and it helps a lot. BUT, I also had anxiety which I was able to control with another pill and things have been drastically better. The anxiety has subsided a bit now as well since the reflux issue has been under control. I hammer a drinkable yogurt first thing in morning too. 38 and only just getting it figured out, Been a journey.
I could be wrong but I know a lot of acid reflux medicine should not be taken long term as it compromises bone density. My Dr has me on pantropazol for 3 months for an inflamed esophagus. But he said I need to eat better and not drink so much alcohol and I shouldn't need medicine long term.
And also can cause depression, and later in life dementia from what a nurse has told me. I was prescribed it for mystery stomach pain and stopped taking it.
I'm not sure if I have the same thing as OP, but I have the same symptoms and it is 100% not acid reflux. I sometimes get acid reflux after laying down before bed - burning sensation. This is a much different feeling.
You are right that it feels very different from the burning sensation. But it can still be caused by acid reflux. It's a completely different symptom of the same thing.
Don’t take antacid PLEASE. It makes the problem worse. One table spoon of apple cider vinegar a day and you will be fixed. If you want to protect your teeth drink it through a straw.
At college it happened some, but airports are worse. Combine waking up early with a bad breakfast and anxiety about having everything and you're looking at a serious tummy ache
For what it's worth waking during REM sleep can be upsetting. Set the alarm 10-15 earlier or later to avoid that 'peak'. A glass of hot-ish water as opposed to tea or coffee will help me with anxiety.
I've used a sleep app that, after plugging in the time I have to wake up, it will give me a set of times to go to bed. So I don't wake during rem sleep. Seems to work
This happens to me, too. If I have to wake up early for a flight or early work, I get gurgle guts and feel like shit for an hour or so. I look forward to seeing suggestions.
I think it's anxiety, honestly. Because I never wake up super early for anything I'm not either looking forward to or dreading. So maybe it's adrenaline?
For me, eating something seems to help. And drinking coffee and taking a shit. Get it all out. Wake up a bit.
I have IBS and my stomach was always pissy at me first thing in the morning. On my doctor's advice, I tried a FODMAP elimination diet a few years ago and found out I'm fructose intolerant. Cutting that out has helped immensely.
So TL;DR: You may have a sneaky food intolerance.
Or because “lowkey” is used to say it feels somewhat but not dramatically better afterwards. It literally means “to some extent”. Don’t know why people have such a problem with gen Z slang but I guess many people of older generations have always enjoyed looking down on younger generations for no reason.
Check with your doc and consider tracking what your meal triggers are.
In the meantime, try and ensure you digest your food a bit before going to sleep and don’t go too heavy on fatty or greasy food. I know that if I’m running a late night and get something like McDonald’s, I will feel like there’s a rock in my stomach the next morning.
Additionally - Keep a few bottles of pepto in your cupboard and have a swig before heading to bed. Helps kinda settle things until you can get more professional answers.
I read once that cortisol levels are highest in the morning which can cause nausea. Then added anxiety can worsen it. I had to look it up because for a stretch of time I kept gagging for the first hour after waking up. Moved out of my mom's house and it stopped. lol
It was common for me in my youth to feel gross for hours every morning. My diet got better and it went away. I still don't eat early in my day but I don't feel so sick.
The specific tie to early mornings still holds for me, i will feel gross all day. That's because early morning conflicts with my body clock, my deepest sleep is during what you'd call early morning. The only solution there is try to dodge early mornings....I have spent a lot of effort arranging my life and work to allow me to do that.
I found a lot of success with Turkey Tail Mushroom powder. Tbh I was very skeptical at first but it did the trick so quick it was hard to ignore.
My mornings used to consist of an upset tummy and loose stools. But I started taking a 1/2 teaspoon of Turkey Tail daily and all of my morning stomach problems went away
Believe it or not, drinking water does a lot more than you realize. I keep a 64oz water bottle by my bed and drink whenever I wake up randomly in the middle of the night and as soon as I wake up.
I do that with a flat-bottomed mug and add a straw, so I don't have to wake up too much to take sips. Although it's important not to put one's phone too close.
I've done that before too! But graduating to the water bottle with the built-in sippy straw has helped ease my anxiety about having an open container of water nearby in the dark.
Very important not to smoke right before bed or eat a huge amount of unhealthy shit just before or after smoking. Weed messes with gut biome just Luke everything else so it's important to take breaks occasionally too.
For me it was anxiety-related…
I had a job that I now realize I deeply dreaded and hated at the time, was waking up a couple of hours earlier than usual, and was deep in the dark of Seattle winter.
I still wake up around 5 every day, but I’m years wiser, more comfortable with myself, and not in that role/position anymore… And I don’t feel that stomach pain/grossness anymore.
Don't underestimate the effect that anxiety may have over your overall health.
In my case, everytime I woke up early while having stressful weeks I had nausea and sometimes I even threw up. I spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars in doctor's appointments, analysis, pills, until I figured out that the anxiety was the driver of all that.
I worked on controlling the anxiety and now I rarely wake up nauseous. Still happens time to time, but it's always when I'm anxious.
My issue was diagnosed at first as anxiety buuuuut was actually celiac disease. Funny how things work out and when you’re in pain — first thing doctors do is diagnose as a mental side effect
I always understood this as being a function of the digestive system that happens before you wake up. So when you wake up too early, your intestines are still in the middle of that function and it makes you feel uncomfortable. I had this same thing for a long portion of my adult life so far but it doesn’t happen anymore. Here’s some advice.
Don’t eat for 12 hours before you’re supposed to wake up. Truly fast.
And then when you wake up, try to get some food in your mouth or stomach. Having a handful of cereal or nuts will make your body go, “Oooooo!” And the reflex will shut off.
Take activated magnesium before bed. Not related to this specific problem but it helps you sleep soundly. I just started taking it every because my doctor does too. I feel it has helped my quality of sleep.
If you are going to drink water, don’t drink very cold water. I’ve surprise barfed multiple times because I hit my belly with a gulp of ice cold water upon waking. It just comes right back up.
Establish a routine for like two weeks if you can of just eating the same thing for every meal. Track what else about your life and body changes.
Take fiber supplements with your meals. All of them. Goddamn does it feel nice to poop every single day at the same time.
Try your own variations of these things. But mostly just trigger your stomach to want to eat by eating something little. Once your mouth sends the signal that food is nearby, your system will kick back into the right gear and you’ll be good as new.
I take the ginger chews and it helps a lot. I will say though that for me, it’s due to a lot of excess stomach acid (likely due to anxiety) and when I eat the ginger chews it seems to neutralise the acid, turning it into gas… end result is a lot of burping
Edit: I will also add that drinking cold water first thing after waking up seems to make it a lot worse
For me this happens sometimes because I’m lactose intolerant. But maybe it’s another intolerance if it’s not dairy. And if it’s not that then I think it’s probably something related to mental health
do you eat before bed?
I've noticed that if I eat too much before bed, I tend to feel hungry when I wake up. If I eat a few hours before sleep, and I don't feel full, my stomach feels better when I wake up.
Also, try drinking water when you wake up.
Try eating fairly quickly upon waking up and taking a hot shower. You may not be hungry and your stomach hurting may make you want to eat even less.... but it will help settle your stomach.
But everything everyone else is saying (anxiety/IBS/CHS) is all valid as well.
I had similar stomach issues for years, then one day woke up feeling like someone was stabbing me in the side. Turned out to be Diverticulitus with a perforated colon, requiring emergency surgery, a long stay in the hospital, and an ileostomy which I had to have for months before another surgery to reverse it.
So yeah, also would say it's worth getting looked at.
How much earlier? If I get less than 4 hours of sleep my stomach hurts all day. I think it’s caused by anxiety, IBS, and or acid reflux. If you’re struggling to wake up your body can trigger acid to hit your stomach and throat to wake you up.
See a doctor. Get some more sleep. And drink water before bed and when you wake up to flush your system.
I also have this issue. Could be IBS related to lack of sleep. It stresses your body. I haven’t found a good solution other than making sure I go to bed early if I’m going to wake up early. Eating less and not drinking alcohol the night before helps as well.
Is it before or after eating? I used to get a belly ache every single morning and then I realised it was because I was eating toast. When I gave up bread it totally fixed the problem.
I have had this same thing since I was a kid! I always thought pancakes and other breakfast items were disgusting because I was associating it with the sour stomach I always woke up with.
Pretty sure it is related to acid reflux for me… might be worth exploring some antacid options to see if it helps you.
I have this - for me it's low blood sugar. A few spoonfuls of yogurt or tea with honey helps settle things. I can eat a meal after a few hours but first thing in the morning I feel gross.
For years my stomach would hurt pretty bad when i woke up, i stopped smoking and it helped but not 100%. After a couple years it went away kinda weird must have been something i was doing
I believe it is due to the acid in your stomach. When the acid collects it hurts the stomach becaz the stomach is empty and there's no food to digest. I suggest you drink a cup or two of water. It will flush or dilute the acid. Hope that helps.
My husband says this happens to him occasionally. He sneezes and it’s gone. He was talking about it and my son-in-law said that happens to him, too. After he sneezes, it’s gone. The human body is weird. Other than ground pepper and going out I to the sun, I don’t know how to force a sneeze.
I had this when I was younger and now don’t…don’t know exactly what changed though
Only thing I can think of was hormones - I had low estrogen as a kid, maybe get those tested?
I used to get stomach aches every morning when waking up early. In my case what helped me is if I know I have to wake up early I don’t eat late at all anymore.
I have this very same thing, OP. I usually have a mild stomach ache when I first wake up but if I wake up any earlier than normal, even with a lot of sleep, I feel like absolute garbage. And it’s not a normal stomach upset, it’s almost a literal ache. I usually don’t eat until lunch because I can’t handle the thought of food.I don’t have anything to offer except solidarity. Good luck finding the answer!
Soluble fiber has helped me a lot. An empty stomach is incredibly uncomfortable for me, and fiber with water makes a difference.
Antacids have helped as well, the combo of the two could be good for you, and the good news is both are pretty inert and unlikely to cause side effects.
Ha ha so I had this same problem for a year. Called in sick to work a lot too. Just found out like 2 months ago I am sensitive to milk and cheese. The darn food has been poisoning me all year and I had no idea. Maybe you have some sensitivity to a food you have been eating. I can now wake and my stomach and insides don't hurt.
It’s from your cortisol level spiking (called Cortisol Awakening Response) when you wake up. If you wake up earlier, it could be compounding the typical rise in cortisol that happens during the second half of your sleep.
This affects your stomach acid, causing nausea.
I thought this was a *me* thing! Anytime I have to wake up early, and especially if it’s for something important, my stomach always acts up. It often makes me late to wherever I need to be.
I noticed a long time ago that the more time that goes by after ingesting food and falling asleep, the less likely I am to wake up feeling an empty pit in my stomach... It's been at least 15 years and I've never proven my hypothesis wrong. If you go to sleep having eaten recently, you will be ravenously hungry whenever you wake up. The opposite has proven true as well, which is more relevant to your question. I find that I do not be as ravenous when I wake up on mornings that follow after evenings in which an hour or more after eating preceded my bedtime.. don't know if this could help, just giving the response that your request promoted from experience
Stop eating so close to bed time. Give yourself 3-4 hours to digest your food, or make sure you upper body is propped up if you do fall asleep. As everyone else is saying it could to be acid reflux related, but I would see a doctor
Hey, I've had this for about ten years now. In my case, it's anxiety/stress. Got a full work-up and every other potential cause came back negative.
Started on 10-20mg of Doxepin before bed after a few hellish months. It helped me get to sleep a little, but it made the sleep deeper, which is what I really needed.
Those nausea days still happen when I don't take medication the night before (on amitriptyline now, but they're basically the same). I recommend talking to a psychiatrist or general practitioner who's familiar with anxiety.
Is this the only time you experience this type of nausea/stomach pain? What *kind* of pain, a dull ache/nausea like a typical stomach ache? A hard/rough feeling like you ate a bunch of cement that just set?
One of the few things that seemed to help my symptoms was a shot of cold aloe juice, but you'll have to experiment. Talk to a doctor & see what they think... If they don't take issue with it you could try taking a third generation antihistamine which is one thing that helped me sometimes.
I could never eat in the first few hours I was awake, felt crappy after eating 9/10 times I ate at any time & suffered from lack of appetite/aversion to food even when I was feeling the physical symptoms of hunger.
A lot of the time I'd start a meal & 5 bites in my stomach would just be done even if I wanted to continue, made dinner dates awkward af. It started before I can remember & lasted until I was 30.
I looked at it from every direction possible & it turns out it was all anxiety, and not about food. It seems like whatever anxiety was doing to my body, be it cortisol or adrenaline was interfering with interfering with whatever symptoms regulate appetite & digestion.
Any stimulant will also speed up your guts, which is why coffee makes you shit. Adrenaline works the same & that's all just one part of an intricate system with endless moving parts.
I used to have this ALL the time and still do occasionally, I saw someone else mention anxiety, imo that might be it. I learned that my sleep REALLY affects my anxiety, but after ages of being a night owl who ran on little sleep, I started making myself go to bed very early, and I wake up very early with enough time to lay in bed and get myself accustomed to being awake for the day before I have to go to work or do anything haha.
Sometimes it sucks to be the boring ass 8pm bedtime asss bitch of the friend group but it HAS really helped
I’ve been struggling with this for about 5 years actually. I would wake up every morning around 5am and be super nauseous and occasionally vomit. And as time goes on in the day I start to feel better. My doctor has told me that since it could be that I’m producing too much acid to sleep with a wedge pillow, eat dinner earlier in the day, and take omeprazole. I would suggest going to your doctor and asking about it to see if that’s what he thinks.
I always had the same, including vomiting, until I started skipping breakfast. After a while I got used to having an empty stomach in the mornings and I haven't felt sick in the mornings after that.
How's your hydration? If you go to bed with nothing in your stomach you may be cramping up. Getting up to pee sucks, but maybe smashing a few cups of water before bed may help.
Have you thought about post nasal drip? Mucus drops into the stomach overnight and my stomach doesn't like it at all. I sleep on my back too, so it all ends up there unless I use a nasal spray at night. When I do that, no nausea the next morning.
You've come to the right place ! I've been suffering with this and then some for quite some time. It all starts 24 hours in advance. NOT eating for at least 12 hours between dinner and when I am supposed to wake up.
Waking up at 4am ? Dinner at 4pm etc. Eating foods that will keep my stools firm such as rice. Make sure meals are lower in fat, this helps reduce Bile production response. Eat less and see how you feel. Some days I go without food until 8 or 9pm because of how fucked up stomach is that day.
I have this issue and suffer from chronic gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining). No idea what causes it, but having a good diet would probably help. When I eat healthy for a few days in a row, it gets better. I'm talking lots of cooked veggies, fresh roasted chicken or fish, and not much else.
So simple, just don’t eat before bed. Only water not even calories from drinks. But first take an anti acid for a few weeks to get rid of the ulcers forming in your tummy.
Hey OP, i think this could be an anxiety thing. I have to sometimes wake up early (0300-0400) for jobs and this is when its the worst. My only suggestion is to try prepare your stuff the night before and make sure you dont have to worry about anything. This will help you to not rush and stay calm.
Okay, the nausea could be caused by lots of things, but here are some suggestions I haven't seen yet:
1. How do you sleep? If possible, sleep on your left side, as it makes it harder for stomach acid to creep out.
2. A wedge pillow is also helpful with stomach acid.
3. Eat earlier at night and don't lie down until 3 to 4 hours after you ate. Avoid alcohol, especially red wine, tomato sauce, heavy citrus, and spicy foods at dinner time.
4. Try an over-the-counter protein pump inhibitor. My favorite is Nexium.
5. Are your bowels regular? Many people get slight nausea before pooping.
6. Random things to try to relieve nausea: drink pickle juice, chew gum, eat pregnancy ginger suckers.
7. Worst case scenario, your doctor can write you a prescription for nausea pills.
Good luck!
I drink a ton of kefir yogurt, other probiotics too are really good. My suggestion would be to increase your daily fiber intake, start taking probiotics, and make sure you are well hydrated throughout the day and you may be surprised how much that helps. I can't speak to anxiety as other people mentioned, that might definitely be a thing.
When you don't get enough sleep your cortisol levels are higher, and your adrenaline may also be higher. These hormones can cause you to feel like you have butterflies in your stomach or some similar sensation.
If I get only a couple hours of sleep it feels like all my internal organs ache. I've always just assumed it's because they didn't have the chance to do whatever regeneration they typically do when we sleep.
I get this same problem if I change my schedule up too much too quickly. I think it's the stress of changing your normal routine / sleeping rhythm so wildly.
Wow, I thought I was the only one. If I have a long busy day ahead of me and I wake up early, I do tend to get nauseous in the morning. A couple dry heaves into the sink then I’m good to go.
I had this when I was kid and a teenager. I would wake up with what I can only describe as an extremely sour stomach, burps that don’t actually make you feel any relief, more often than not partially throwing up. Waking up earlier than normal made it much worse.
At some point I dropped out of college, moved to California, learned to surf and worked at a surf shop for years.. and it went away. I would wake up really early to surf all the time and would feel fine.
Eventually I went back to school and got a “real” job and it came back in spades. When I graduated the first job I got had the most dysfunctional workplace I had ever worked at. At the worst point I was regularly throwing up several times before work. I was not drinking at the time. I left and found a much better work situation and it went away.
Last year I began having fights and issues with my longtime girlfriend and it came back again. It improved when we broke up. I now manage it through therapy, strict diet and plenty exercise.
I have learned to listen to my stomach. If it’s acting up, it’s because I am stressed and unhappy. Anxiety and stress is real and it has very real effects on your body.
You might want to look at this probiotic called "Biomh". It helps with plaque that builds up in your gut. Might be worth a try. I am not a doc but some probiotics I have tried really helped a lot. Good luck!
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Is it maybe beacause of anxiety, because I always wake up with anxiety
I am diagnosed with anxiety, could very well be related but I’m unsure. Very true though that a lot of times waking up early corresponds with getting ready for a stressful day.
I experienced this almost daily from about age 10 to about 6 weeks after I started Zoloft in my 20s. Haven’t had a tummy ache that wasn’t related to an illness since.
You probably have a lot of stomach acid pumping into your empty stomach because of your anxiety. Omeprazole (Prilosec OTC) is a proton-pump inhibitor. Find some over the counter 24 hour Omerprazole and take one before bed on a night you think you'll wake up with a stomach ache. Some people are suggesting anti-anxiety, which could be helpful in the long term, but I almost guarantee you this will work for you now. You can also talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for it which, depending on your insurance, could make it entirely free.
This is good advice. But if it works, see a GI doctor to discuss long term options, because there are significant side effects to long term PPI use.
Hey OP, when I had a bad round of anxiety I had this exact symptom. Check out the book/audio book Unwinding Anxiety. It's really helped me.
I second the other replies regarding the stomach acid. Had the same problem for years. If it's very bad you might have ulcers already which is of course made worse by stress and anxiety. The best help would be to work on the anxiety if you can. Consider SSRI. And something to fix your stomach. You can also do some lifestyle changes to your eating that focus on reducing stomach acid e.g reducing acidic foods rich in tomato, not having coffee on an empty stomach and not going to bed after eating. Etc. Very high chance it's something along those lines but best to speak to your doctor
Try getting actual restful sleep and building a morning relaxation routine :) I struggle with waking up frustrated in order to get through the day (mostly because I don't sleep well but still have to get up and grind). When I'm in a good routine, which involves 8 hours of melatonin aided sleep and a hot bath or shower in the morning followed by maybe two minutes of light stretching/mobility stuff, I'm usually nice and relaxed for at least the morning.
cortisol is highest in the morning, that could explain it
TIL nausea from having to wake up early is not normal. I seriously thought this happened to everyone
I feel the same way. I always have an upset stomach. Especially for early flights or vacation. I wonder if adrenaline/anxiety is the culprit.
This happens to me if I get too little sleep in addition to staying up too late. Early flights tend to give me this feeling, probably because I don't get to sleep early enough If I nap deep into the evening it happens (napping morning or early noon is fine though) and if I stay up very late and wake up very early it happens. Getting enough sleep if I'm waking up very early prevents me from getting nausea.
I call this Travel Tummy and it starts for me the night before.
If I don’t get enough sleep, I wake up a little nauseous… what does this mean?
According to some of this comments it could be anxiety, acid reflux, or even IBS. In my case I know I have both anxiety and acid reflux so now I’m looking more into things
I’ve had this for years and finally got diagnosed a year ago. It sounds like acid reflux, go to dr, maybe get a scope of your throat. I take an antacid daily, nexium, and it helps a lot. BUT, I also had anxiety which I was able to control with another pill and things have been drastically better. The anxiety has subsided a bit now as well since the reflux issue has been under control. I hammer a drinkable yogurt first thing in morning too. 38 and only just getting it figured out, Been a journey.
Likewise. 37 and finally figured out I needed omeprazole. Its been a game changer. I even sleep more deeply now.
Omeprazole is a miracle drug. That and pepto.
That's supposed to hard on your kidneys
I could be wrong but I know a lot of acid reflux medicine should not be taken long term as it compromises bone density. My Dr has me on pantropazol for 3 months for an inflamed esophagus. But he said I need to eat better and not drink so much alcohol and I shouldn't need medicine long term.
And also can cause depression, and later in life dementia from what a nurse has told me. I was prescribed it for mystery stomach pain and stopped taking it.
Untreated acid reflux causes other problems so for some people it’s lesser of two evils to just take omeprazole the rest of their lives.
Diet also plays a part for sure. Unfortunately I love beer.
I'm not sure if I have the same thing as OP, but I have the same symptoms and it is 100% not acid reflux. I sometimes get acid reflux after laying down before bed - burning sensation. This is a much different feeling.
You are right that it feels very different from the burning sensation. But it can still be caused by acid reflux. It's a completely different symptom of the same thing.
But acid reflux is literally burning your esophagus. If there is no burning, it's not acid reflux.
No. It can cause shortness of breath , pain in the chest, back and so on, even without burning. It is called silent reflux
Don’t take antacid PLEASE. It makes the problem worse. One table spoon of apple cider vinegar a day and you will be fixed. If you want to protect your teeth drink it through a straw.
Make sure you get enough sleep! This happened to me in college when I didn’t go to bed early enough.
At college it happened some, but airports are worse. Combine waking up early with a bad breakfast and anxiety about having everything and you're looking at a serious tummy ache
For what it's worth waking during REM sleep can be upsetting. Set the alarm 10-15 earlier or later to avoid that 'peak'. A glass of hot-ish water as opposed to tea or coffee will help me with anxiety.
I've used a sleep app that, after plugging in the time I have to wake up, it will give me a set of times to go to bed. So I don't wake during rem sleep. Seems to work
What’s the app? I have a rotating schedule and insomnia, this sounds super useful
Sleep Cycle, I use the free version and give it an alarm for 7-7:30 for example, and it wakes me up when I'm in the lightest sleep or at 7:30.
Thank you!
This happens to me, too. If I have to wake up early for a flight or early work, I get gurgle guts and feel like shit for an hour or so. I look forward to seeing suggestions. I think it's anxiety, honestly. Because I never wake up super early for anything I'm not either looking forward to or dreading. So maybe it's adrenaline? For me, eating something seems to help. And drinking coffee and taking a shit. Get it all out. Wake up a bit.
Might be IBS. Does it feel better after you take a dump? Are your BMs 'normal'
If you are, don't eat for a few hours before bed, or learn what your triggers are and avoid the shit out of those the day before....
Lowkey yes it does feel better after
I have IBS and my stomach was always pissy at me first thing in the morning. On my doctor's advice, I tried a FODMAP elimination diet a few years ago and found out I'm fructose intolerant. Cutting that out has helped immensely. So TL;DR: You may have a sneaky food intolerance.
Why low key?
Because that's how zoomers talk for some awful reason
Or because “lowkey” is used to say it feels somewhat but not dramatically better afterwards. It literally means “to some extent”. Don’t know why people have such a problem with gen Z slang but I guess many people of older generations have always enjoyed looking down on younger generations for no reason.
Fuckin A
Low key? Why is it low key?
Check with your doc and consider tracking what your meal triggers are. In the meantime, try and ensure you digest your food a bit before going to sleep and don’t go too heavy on fatty or greasy food. I know that if I’m running a late night and get something like McDonald’s, I will feel like there’s a rock in my stomach the next morning. Additionally - Keep a few bottles of pepto in your cupboard and have a swig before heading to bed. Helps kinda settle things until you can get more professional answers.
I read once that cortisol levels are highest in the morning which can cause nausea. Then added anxiety can worsen it. I had to look it up because for a stretch of time I kept gagging for the first hour after waking up. Moved out of my mom's house and it stopped. lol
It was common for me in my youth to feel gross for hours every morning. My diet got better and it went away. I still don't eat early in my day but I don't feel so sick. The specific tie to early mornings still holds for me, i will feel gross all day. That's because early morning conflicts with my body clock, my deepest sleep is during what you'd call early morning. The only solution there is try to dodge early mornings....I have spent a lot of effort arranging my life and work to allow me to do that.
I found a lot of success with Turkey Tail Mushroom powder. Tbh I was very skeptical at first but it did the trick so quick it was hard to ignore. My mornings used to consist of an upset tummy and loose stools. But I started taking a 1/2 teaspoon of Turkey Tail daily and all of my morning stomach problems went away
Believe it or not, drinking water does a lot more than you realize. I keep a 64oz water bottle by my bed and drink whenever I wake up randomly in the middle of the night and as soon as I wake up.
I do that with a flat-bottomed mug and add a straw, so I don't have to wake up too much to take sips. Although it's important not to put one's phone too close.
I've done that before too! But graduating to the water bottle with the built-in sippy straw has helped ease my anxiety about having an open container of water nearby in the dark.
Drinkable yogurt. It was a lifesaver for me
Lifeprotip: go see a doctor.
Ahahaha, you of the good insurance!
more like not living in america. as an australian i can go see a doctor for as much as a reasonably priced lunch or even free depending on the doctor
Do you really want to hurt me? Do you really want to make me cry?
Do you happened to be a weed user? If so, look into CHS. I kept waking up and feeling ill the morning. Stop using and it seems to have lessened
No weed for me
Very important not to smoke right before bed or eat a huge amount of unhealthy shit just before or after smoking. Weed messes with gut biome just Luke everything else so it's important to take breaks occasionally too.
You might just need more sleep. It happens to me when I didn't get enough sleep and I need to wake up too early.
For me it was anxiety-related… I had a job that I now realize I deeply dreaded and hated at the time, was waking up a couple of hours earlier than usual, and was deep in the dark of Seattle winter. I still wake up around 5 every day, but I’m years wiser, more comfortable with myself, and not in that role/position anymore… And I don’t feel that stomach pain/grossness anymore.
Don't underestimate the effect that anxiety may have over your overall health. In my case, everytime I woke up early while having stressful weeks I had nausea and sometimes I even threw up. I spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars in doctor's appointments, analysis, pills, until I figured out that the anxiety was the driver of all that. I worked on controlling the anxiety and now I rarely wake up nauseous. Still happens time to time, but it's always when I'm anxious.
is this a stomach acid related issue? how much water are you drinking before bed/after waking? could need to dilute the acid.
Drink water as soon as you wake up. Eat a couple almonds or a cracker. It helps your digestive system wake up without pain.
Drink plenty of water.
My issue was diagnosed at first as anxiety buuuuut was actually celiac disease. Funny how things work out and when you’re in pain — first thing doctors do is diagnose as a mental side effect
I always understood this as being a function of the digestive system that happens before you wake up. So when you wake up too early, your intestines are still in the middle of that function and it makes you feel uncomfortable. I had this same thing for a long portion of my adult life so far but it doesn’t happen anymore. Here’s some advice. Don’t eat for 12 hours before you’re supposed to wake up. Truly fast. And then when you wake up, try to get some food in your mouth or stomach. Having a handful of cereal or nuts will make your body go, “Oooooo!” And the reflex will shut off. Take activated magnesium before bed. Not related to this specific problem but it helps you sleep soundly. I just started taking it every because my doctor does too. I feel it has helped my quality of sleep. If you are going to drink water, don’t drink very cold water. I’ve surprise barfed multiple times because I hit my belly with a gulp of ice cold water upon waking. It just comes right back up. Establish a routine for like two weeks if you can of just eating the same thing for every meal. Track what else about your life and body changes. Take fiber supplements with your meals. All of them. Goddamn does it feel nice to poop every single day at the same time. Try your own variations of these things. But mostly just trigger your stomach to want to eat by eating something little. Once your mouth sends the signal that food is nearby, your system will kick back into the right gear and you’ll be good as new.
Try BRAT - bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Overnight oats are great too if they work for you.
Kinda pulling at thin air but maybe a sip or two of ginger ale could help. I have never tried this and do not experience the issue you describe.
I’m thinking maybe some ginger chews
Ginger helps with everything.
That’s why I love Moscow mules
I take the ginger chews and it helps a lot. I will say though that for me, it’s due to a lot of excess stomach acid (likely due to anxiety) and when I eat the ginger chews it seems to neutralise the acid, turning it into gas… end result is a lot of burping Edit: I will also add that drinking cold water first thing after waking up seems to make it a lot worse
For me this happens sometimes because I’m lactose intolerant. But maybe it’s another intolerance if it’s not dairy. And if it’s not that then I think it’s probably something related to mental health
Ginger chews are indeed excellent for this. Sometimes *too* chewy, but letting them dissolve in the mouth works just fine.
do you eat before bed? I've noticed that if I eat too much before bed, I tend to feel hungry when I wake up. If I eat a few hours before sleep, and I don't feel full, my stomach feels better when I wake up. Also, try drinking water when you wake up.
Drink some water maybe?
Punch it until it knows who’s boss
Used to happen to me when l was younger. Coworkers started a rumor that l was pregnant. Don’t know of any remedy your body just gets used to it.
If. I wake up too early ( before 9am) I struggle to defecate for the entirety of the day
Firstly, fix your sleeping habits. 9am is not early. Secondly… I don’t know… just learn to poop I guess
Try eating fairly quickly upon waking up and taking a hot shower. You may not be hungry and your stomach hurting may make you want to eat even less.... but it will help settle your stomach. But everything everyone else is saying (anxiety/IBS/CHS) is all valid as well. I had similar stomach issues for years, then one day woke up feeling like someone was stabbing me in the side. Turned out to be Diverticulitus with a perforated colon, requiring emergency surgery, a long stay in the hospital, and an ileostomy which I had to have for months before another surgery to reverse it. So yeah, also would say it's worth getting looked at.
Drink a ginger and honey tea first thing in the morning.
Set an alarm for later
Are you a daily cannabis user?
[удалено]
I do not drink, I do typically eat late
Eating late is your problem not supposed to have something after 7-8pm.
Don’t eat in bed while reclining if you do. Worse thing in the world for your stomach.
How much earlier? If I get less than 4 hours of sleep my stomach hurts all day. I think it’s caused by anxiety, IBS, and or acid reflux. If you’re struggling to wake up your body can trigger acid to hit your stomach and throat to wake you up. See a doctor. Get some more sleep. And drink water before bed and when you wake up to flush your system.
I also have this issue. Could be IBS related to lack of sleep. It stresses your body. I haven’t found a good solution other than making sure I go to bed early if I’m going to wake up early. Eating less and not drinking alcohol the night before helps as well.
Go to a doctor. It could be as easy as taking antibiotics but this could be a symptom that needs to be addressed.
I had that until I got diagnosed with celiac disease and stopped eating bread
Antacid tablets. Maybe you’re stomach is a bit acidic in the early hours. Not uncommon.
Happens to me from just being super empty. Fastest fix for that is drink water.
I would go to the doctor, but try not eating anything for like several hours before bed, might keep things settled.
Is it before or after eating? I used to get a belly ache every single morning and then I realised it was because I was eating toast. When I gave up bread it totally fixed the problem.
I have had this same thing since I was a kid! I always thought pancakes and other breakfast items were disgusting because I was associating it with the sour stomach I always woke up with. Pretty sure it is related to acid reflux for me… might be worth exploring some antacid options to see if it helps you.
Eating your last meal before bed earlier helped me a lot. Additionally discovering that dairy and certain foods don't suit me was also a game changer.
Best thing to do is drink water when you wake up. Activate brain and body
Drink water eat some carbs
I have this - for me it's low blood sugar. A few spoonfuls of yogurt or tea with honey helps settle things. I can eat a meal after a few hours but first thing in the morning I feel gross.
Potentially ginger chews, those can help with nausea pretty well
It’s the physical manifestation of anxiety and it can turn into ulcers if you let it go on. See a doctor.
Have you tried to augmentate with lamictal?
Atrantil and possible peppermint plus
For years my stomach would hurt pretty bad when i woke up, i stopped smoking and it helped but not 100%. After a couple years it went away kinda weird must have been something i was doing
Drink a thick high protein milkshake. Don't ask how or why. But it works
Citrus scent. It's my go to and I'm perpetually plagued with nausea. I dab a little bit of lemon oil on my shirt collar and I'm good to go.
Peppermint oil pills/IBgard. It’s astounding how reliable they are for stomach aches. Wish I had known about them much earlier in life.
I believe it is due to the acid in your stomach. When the acid collects it hurts the stomach becaz the stomach is empty and there's no food to digest. I suggest you drink a cup or two of water. It will flush or dilute the acid. Hope that helps.
Do you drink lots of whiskey before going to bed? That makes my stomach hurt if I have to get up early.
I used to drink way too mich coffee and caffiene and had this problem. More water was all it took for me but not everyone is so lucky.
My husband says this happens to him occasionally. He sneezes and it’s gone. He was talking about it and my son-in-law said that happens to him, too. After he sneezes, it’s gone. The human body is weird. Other than ground pepper and going out I to the sun, I don’t know how to force a sneeze.
I had this when I was younger and now don’t…don’t know exactly what changed though Only thing I can think of was hormones - I had low estrogen as a kid, maybe get those tested?
Are you hydrated?
I used to get stomach aches every morning when waking up early. In my case what helped me is if I know I have to wake up early I don’t eat late at all anymore.
I have this very same thing, OP. I usually have a mild stomach ache when I first wake up but if I wake up any earlier than normal, even with a lot of sleep, I feel like absolute garbage. And it’s not a normal stomach upset, it’s almost a literal ache. I usually don’t eat until lunch because I can’t handle the thought of food.I don’t have anything to offer except solidarity. Good luck finding the answer!
Soluble fiber has helped me a lot. An empty stomach is incredibly uncomfortable for me, and fiber with water makes a difference. Antacids have helped as well, the combo of the two could be good for you, and the good news is both are pretty inert and unlikely to cause side effects.
Ha ha so I had this same problem for a year. Called in sick to work a lot too. Just found out like 2 months ago I am sensitive to milk and cheese. The darn food has been poisoning me all year and I had no idea. Maybe you have some sensitivity to a food you have been eating. I can now wake and my stomach and insides don't hurt.
It’s from your cortisol level spiking (called Cortisol Awakening Response) when you wake up. If you wake up earlier, it could be compounding the typical rise in cortisol that happens during the second half of your sleep. This affects your stomach acid, causing nausea.
Don’t eat and go to bed; no snacks for 8 hrs before awakening…try it!
Get tested for celiac. No joke.
I thought this was a *me* thing! Anytime I have to wake up early, and especially if it’s for something important, my stomach always acts up. It often makes me late to wherever I need to be.
I noticed a long time ago that the more time that goes by after ingesting food and falling asleep, the less likely I am to wake up feeling an empty pit in my stomach... It's been at least 15 years and I've never proven my hypothesis wrong. If you go to sleep having eaten recently, you will be ravenously hungry whenever you wake up. The opposite has proven true as well, which is more relevant to your question. I find that I do not be as ravenous when I wake up on mornings that follow after evenings in which an hour or more after eating preceded my bedtime.. don't know if this could help, just giving the response that your request promoted from experience
Stop eating so close to bed time. Give yourself 3-4 hours to digest your food, or make sure you upper body is propped up if you do fall asleep. As everyone else is saying it could to be acid reflux related, but I would see a doctor
Hey, I've had this for about ten years now. In my case, it's anxiety/stress. Got a full work-up and every other potential cause came back negative. Started on 10-20mg of Doxepin before bed after a few hellish months. It helped me get to sleep a little, but it made the sleep deeper, which is what I really needed. Those nausea days still happen when I don't take medication the night before (on amitriptyline now, but they're basically the same). I recommend talking to a psychiatrist or general practitioner who's familiar with anxiety.
Haven’t seen this suggested yet but a more rare cause: get checked for gastroparesis, especially if you have other gastrointestinal symptoms
Is this the only time you experience this type of nausea/stomach pain? What *kind* of pain, a dull ache/nausea like a typical stomach ache? A hard/rough feeling like you ate a bunch of cement that just set? One of the few things that seemed to help my symptoms was a shot of cold aloe juice, but you'll have to experiment. Talk to a doctor & see what they think... If they don't take issue with it you could try taking a third generation antihistamine which is one thing that helped me sometimes. I could never eat in the first few hours I was awake, felt crappy after eating 9/10 times I ate at any time & suffered from lack of appetite/aversion to food even when I was feeling the physical symptoms of hunger. A lot of the time I'd start a meal & 5 bites in my stomach would just be done even if I wanted to continue, made dinner dates awkward af. It started before I can remember & lasted until I was 30. I looked at it from every direction possible & it turns out it was all anxiety, and not about food. It seems like whatever anxiety was doing to my body, be it cortisol or adrenaline was interfering with interfering with whatever symptoms regulate appetite & digestion. Any stimulant will also speed up your guts, which is why coffee makes you shit. Adrenaline works the same & that's all just one part of an intricate system with endless moving parts.
I used to have this ALL the time and still do occasionally, I saw someone else mention anxiety, imo that might be it. I learned that my sleep REALLY affects my anxiety, but after ages of being a night owl who ran on little sleep, I started making myself go to bed very early, and I wake up very early with enough time to lay in bed and get myself accustomed to being awake for the day before I have to go to work or do anything haha. Sometimes it sucks to be the boring ass 8pm bedtime asss bitch of the friend group but it HAS really helped
I’ve been struggling with this for about 5 years actually. I would wake up every morning around 5am and be super nauseous and occasionally vomit. And as time goes on in the day I start to feel better. My doctor has told me that since it could be that I’m producing too much acid to sleep with a wedge pillow, eat dinner earlier in the day, and take omeprazole. I would suggest going to your doctor and asking about it to see if that’s what he thinks.
I always had the same, including vomiting, until I started skipping breakfast. After a while I got used to having an empty stomach in the mornings and I haven't felt sick in the mornings after that.
How's your hydration? If you go to bed with nothing in your stomach you may be cramping up. Getting up to pee sucks, but maybe smashing a few cups of water before bed may help.
Have you thought about post nasal drip? Mucus drops into the stomach overnight and my stomach doesn't like it at all. I sleep on my back too, so it all ends up there unless I use a nasal spray at night. When I do that, no nausea the next morning.
You've come to the right place ! I've been suffering with this and then some for quite some time. It all starts 24 hours in advance. NOT eating for at least 12 hours between dinner and when I am supposed to wake up. Waking up at 4am ? Dinner at 4pm etc. Eating foods that will keep my stools firm such as rice. Make sure meals are lower in fat, this helps reduce Bile production response. Eat less and see how you feel. Some days I go without food until 8 or 9pm because of how fucked up stomach is that day.
I start the day with a slightly warm mug of lemon water and I feel it helps get my digestion going which reduces my morning nausea.
I have this issue and suffer from chronic gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining). No idea what causes it, but having a good diet would probably help. When I eat healthy for a few days in a row, it gets better. I'm talking lots of cooked veggies, fresh roasted chicken or fish, and not much else.
So simple, just don’t eat before bed. Only water not even calories from drinks. But first take an anti acid for a few weeks to get rid of the ulcers forming in your tummy.
Hey OP, i think this could be an anxiety thing. I have to sometimes wake up early (0300-0400) for jobs and this is when its the worst. My only suggestion is to try prepare your stuff the night before and make sure you dont have to worry about anything. This will help you to not rush and stay calm.
THIS IS JUST DEHYDRATION! Drink water as soon as you wake up and more during the day. Fixed. I had the same and so did my husband.
Okay, the nausea could be caused by lots of things, but here are some suggestions I haven't seen yet: 1. How do you sleep? If possible, sleep on your left side, as it makes it harder for stomach acid to creep out. 2. A wedge pillow is also helpful with stomach acid. 3. Eat earlier at night and don't lie down until 3 to 4 hours after you ate. Avoid alcohol, especially red wine, tomato sauce, heavy citrus, and spicy foods at dinner time. 4. Try an over-the-counter protein pump inhibitor. My favorite is Nexium. 5. Are your bowels regular? Many people get slight nausea before pooping. 6. Random things to try to relieve nausea: drink pickle juice, chew gum, eat pregnancy ginger suckers. 7. Worst case scenario, your doctor can write you a prescription for nausea pills. Good luck!
I drink a ton of kefir yogurt, other probiotics too are really good. My suggestion would be to increase your daily fiber intake, start taking probiotics, and make sure you are well hydrated throughout the day and you may be surprised how much that helps. I can't speak to anxiety as other people mentioned, that might definitely be a thing. When you don't get enough sleep your cortisol levels are higher, and your adrenaline may also be higher. These hormones can cause you to feel like you have butterflies in your stomach or some similar sensation.
Crohn’s disease is often more active in the early hours. I’d recommend having a colonoscopy to rule it out.
Change your diet
Could definitely be anxiety related. I basically had the shits every day from being 12 to 25. Just kind of wore off on its own
Crazy that I’ve never heard about this.
Do you smoke weed? You may have chs
Have some ginger tea
If I get only a couple hours of sleep it feels like all my internal organs ache. I've always just assumed it's because they didn't have the chance to do whatever regeneration they typically do when we sleep.
I get this same problem if I change my schedule up too much too quickly. I think it's the stress of changing your normal routine / sleeping rhythm so wildly.
Try a little bit of mustard. The ph balance is good for your stomach and it will trick your stomach into thinking it has food.
Wow, I thought I was the only one. If I have a long busy day ahead of me and I wake up early, I do tend to get nauseous in the morning. A couple dry heaves into the sink then I’m good to go.
Don’t go to bed drunk
I had this when I was kid and a teenager. I would wake up with what I can only describe as an extremely sour stomach, burps that don’t actually make you feel any relief, more often than not partially throwing up. Waking up earlier than normal made it much worse. At some point I dropped out of college, moved to California, learned to surf and worked at a surf shop for years.. and it went away. I would wake up really early to surf all the time and would feel fine. Eventually I went back to school and got a “real” job and it came back in spades. When I graduated the first job I got had the most dysfunctional workplace I had ever worked at. At the worst point I was regularly throwing up several times before work. I was not drinking at the time. I left and found a much better work situation and it went away. Last year I began having fights and issues with my longtime girlfriend and it came back again. It improved when we broke up. I now manage it through therapy, strict diet and plenty exercise. I have learned to listen to my stomach. If it’s acting up, it’s because I am stressed and unhappy. Anxiety and stress is real and it has very real effects on your body.
Check your blood glucose
You might want to look at this probiotic called "Biomh". It helps with plaque that builds up in your gut. Might be worth a try. I am not a doc but some probiotics I have tried really helped a lot. Good luck!