A general guideline of 3 hours between your last meal and lying down gives the stomach meaningful time to empty, reducing how much content is available to reflux once gravity stops helping. This isn't an arbitrary number — stomach emptying for a typical meal takes roughly 2–4 hours depending on size and fat content, so eating right before bed means lying down while the stomach is still actively working. Larger or fattier meals take longer to empty and deserve more buffer time; a light snack needs less. If a late meal is unavoidable, keeping it small, low-fat, and low-acid reduces the impact more than skipping the buffer entirely. This single change — without altering what you eat — is one of the more effective adjustments for people whose reflux is worse specifically at night.
