Dr. Park posted a confession to his blog last night that makes me think of all the times I thought a sore throat in the morning was a sign i was getting sick, but it was actually caused by eating too late at night:

I have to admit that for the most part I don’t eat close to bedtime, but it does occasionally happen. Last night, we had a late afternoon event, and ending up eating Korean food at a local restaurant. Not only did I order something spicy, but we ended up eating about 2 hours later than normal. The big mistake I made was in eating a delicious nectarine around 9 PM after we got home, which was a big mistake.

This morning, I woke up with a really sore throat, which traveled up into my ears. Most people would consider this to be the start of your typical cold or allergy attack, but knowing what I know, and based on the timing of events last night, my throat pain was definitely due to reflux. As I write this post later in the morning, my throat pain is completely gone, which proves my point even further.

Imagine if you typically eat close to bedtime, and you have reflux every night. Chronic inflammation and swelling due to normal stomach juices cases narrowing of your nose and throat, which can aggravate more frequent obstructions and arousals. Poor sleep over the long term causes weight gain, and weight gain narrows the throat, aggravating sleep-breathing problems. Whether or not you have obstructive sleep apnea, everyone is susceptible to this process. If this continues for days or weeks, it can set you up for the routine bronchitis or sinus infections that are so commonly seen.