Why You Get Hiccups in Your Sleep
Updated on October 31, 2025
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At one point or another, most of us have been woken up by a nightmare or an intense urge to go to the bathroom. Hiccups may be a less-familiar middle-of-the-night disruption, but it does happen. Persistent hiccups can last for as long as a month — day and night — which can keep you awake.
Hiccups are involuntary muscle spasms in the diaphragm, the major breathing muscle that sits below your rib cage. When your diaphragm suddenly and involuntarily contracts, it closes your vocal cords and creates the typical hiccup noise.
While you won’t die of hiccups while sleeping, these spasms can be quite disruptive and have several potential causes. If they don’t go away after 48 hours, see a doctor to help get to the root of the problem.
1. You Have GERD
Your nightly hiccups could be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition that occurs when stomach acid flows back into the esophagus and causes irritation in the lining of the food pipe and the diaphragm. GERD can trigger hiccups.
In addition to hiccups and disrupted sleep, other symptoms of GERD may include:
- Heartburn
- Upper belly or chest pain
- Difficulty swallowing
- Regurgitation of food or sour liquid
- Sensation of a lump in your throat
- Chronic cough
- Laryngitis
- New or worsening asthma
Fix It
If your hiccups stem from GERD, the best way to prevent them is by addressing the digestive problem. Talk to your doctor, who can appropriately assess you and provide a proper course of treatment.
Lifestyle changes can help ease the symptoms GERD for some people:
- Make dietary changes, such as avoiding trigger foods like spicy and fried foods, alcohol, chocolate, and carbonated beverages.
- Quit smoking.
- Prepare smaller meals.
- Eat food slowly and chew thoroughly.
- Wear loose-fitting clothing.
- Reduce excess weight in the midsection.
Others may find reflux relief with over-the-counter or prescription antacids that help neutralize stomach acid.
2. You’re Eating or Drinking Near Bedtime
Eating meals or snacking right before you turn in can lead to hiccups in the middle of the night. It typically takes a couple of hours for food to be digested and leave your stomach, and during digestion, food distends the belly, which also produces more acid to break it down.
When someone lies down or goes to sleep before this process is finished, all the food and acid remain in the stomach and may even travel up into the esophagus, causing reflux. This can disrupt the diaphragm, producing hiccups, says gastroenterologist Elena A. Ivanina, DO, MPH, a gut doctor and microbiome specialist in New York City.
What’s more, trigger foods can irritate the diaphragm and esophagus and increase your odds of developing hiccups.
Fix It
Stop eating and drinking at least four hours before you hit the sheets, particularly fried foods, spicy stuff, and alcohol. Though it may feel easier to fall asleep when you drink alcohol before bed, alcohol actually leads to even more disrupted slumber.
3. You Smoke Cigarettes
Puffing on cigarettes can produce sleep-hampering hiccups, too. Smokers are susceptible to hiccups because they’re swallowing a lot of air with each drag and distending the stomach. And whenever your belly expands excessively, it can lead to spasms in the neighboring diaphragm, says Dr. Ivanina.
Fix It
Quitting smoking is easier said than done, but there are programs and strategies that can make breaking a nicotine addiction easier.
- Therapy
- Stress reduction
- Exercise
- Social support
- Prescription medication
4. You’re Taking Certain Medications
Some prescription drugs may cause hiccups via various mechanisms, such as if they affect the phrenic or vagus nerves (which serve the diaphragm), says Ivanina. Persistent hiccups can be caused by these medications:
- Dopamine agonists, used to treat Parkinson’s
- Benzodiazepines, which slow the nervous system
- Some chemotherapy medications
- Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid
- Azithromycin, an antibiotic
Fix It
If you think your meds may be the cause of your nocturnal hiccups, speak to your doctor, who may be able to prescribe you a different drug or dosage.
5. You Have an Ear Infection
It may seem like an unlikely connection, but ear infections are a common cause of hiccups. That’s because the tympanic nerve, also known as the eardrum, is indirectly linked to the vagus nerve. When the eardrum is irritated by an infection, it may impact the nerves that connect to the diaphragm, bringing on a bout of hiccups.
Other telltale signs of an ear infection include:
- Ear pain
- Loss of appetite
- Poor sleep
- Fever
- Drainage from the ear (yellow, brown, or white fluid)
- Trouble hearing
Fix It
Successfully treating the earache is the best way to get rid of the hiccups related to it. Ear infections can heal without treatment, but you or your child may need a prescription for antibiotics for infections that don’t go away. Complications of chronic ear infections include hearing loss, which may not improve if the eardrum is permanently damaged.
6. You Have Another Underlying Medical Issue
Physical problems that irritate the nerves in the chest, including laryngitis, goiters (enlargement of the thyroid gland), tumors in the neck, infections near the diaphragm, and hiatal hernia, can result in regularly occurring hiccups.
In addition, tumors, infections, or damage to your central nervous system can also affect your body’s ability to handle the hiccup reflex. That’s why conditions like encephalitis, meningitis, multiple sclerosis, stroke, or traumatic brain injury can cause recurrent hiccups.
Fix It
If your hiccups are hanging around and disrupting your sleep and quality of life, schedule a full exam with your healthcare provider. They can perform a thorough examination to rule out any serious underlying medical disorders.
Other Tips to Manage Hiccups
When hiccups keep you awake at night, there are things you can do to get them to go away. Try these tactics.
- Drink water quickly.
- Swallow a spoonful of sugar.
- Gently pull on your tongue or press on your eyes.
- Gargle ice water.
- Hold your breath.
- Breathe into a paper bag.
The Takeaway
- Persistent hiccups can happen both day and night. While nocturnal hiccups aren’t usually a cause for serious concern, they can disrupt sleep patterns.
- Some people are prone to hiccups because of underlying health conditions, for example people with GERD or those with ear infections.
- Hiccups are also related to lifestyle behaviors, like eating spicy or fried foods, drinking alcohol, or eating late at night. Adjusting those behaviors can help them go away.
- If your hiccups last longer than 48 hours, reach out to your healthcare provider.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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- Heartburn and Acid Reflux. National Health Service. November 20, 2023.
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Mayo Clinic. April 23, 2025.
- Lifestyle Changes for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. NYU Langone Health.
- How Long Does It Take to Digest Food? Cleveland Clinic. April 19, 2021.
- Gardiner C et al. The Effect of Alcohol on Subsequent Sleep in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews. April 2025.
- Thompson L. You Asked: What Are My Hiccups Telling Me? Texas A&M University Health. February 2, 2016.
- Tools and Tips. Smokefree.gov.
- Shmerling RH. What’s Up With Hiccups? Harvard Health Publishing. September 5, 2017.
- Kenny BJ et al. Neuroanatomy, Cranial Nerve 10 (Vague Nerve). StatPearls. November 7, 2022.
- Ear Infection (Otitis Media). Cleveland Clinic. June 6, 2023.
- Ear Infection (Middle Ear). Mayo Clinic. April 23, 2025.
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Simran Malhotra, MD
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Simran Malhotra, MD, DipABLM, CHWC, is a triple board-certified physician in internal medicine, hospice and palliative care, and lifestyle medicine, as well as a certified health a...
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Jaime Osnato is a freelance writer and licensed social worker based in New York City. Her work has appeared in SELF, Shape, Fit Pregnancy, and more.