Why Does My Stomach Hurt in the Morning?

Stomach pain in the morning

Why does my stomach hurt every morning? Morning stomach pain could be caused by a variety of reasons. Pain is your body’s response to something being not quite right or if you have experienced an injury.

Waking up with stomach pain can put anyone in a foul mood and have you thinking “why does my stomach hurt in the morning?”

Let’s see the common reasons why you experience stomach pain in the morning and how to treat the pain.


Why Does Your Stomach Hurt in the Morning?

Waking up with stomach pain can be either a condition or a result of something you ate the previous night. It may also just be caused by general hunger pains if you haven’t eaten in a while.

Usually, people will not eat at least 2 hours before they go to bed, and by the time they wake up, it will have been 10 to 12 hours since the last meal.

What causes morning stomach pain

Your body does not need a lot of energy while at rest, but it will need a refueling in the morning.

Other reasons that you have stomach pain in the morning could be due to a preexisting condition. There are many different types of stomach pain in the morning.

Related Reading: Stomach Pain after Eating

Depending on what type of morning stomach pain you are experiencing is a good insight as to why it is occurring.

Many people will ignore these symptoms as they just associate it with hunger. But stomach pain in the morning could be due to a more serious condition.

Ulcers, heartburn, and other gastrointestinal issues have been found to cause a stomach ache in the morning. What causes stomach pain in the morning?

The main cause of stomach pain in the morning is your stomach acid.

Your stomach has a mucus coating on its inside to help protect it from this highly corrosive substance. When you eat too much acidic food, or eat too late at night, your stomach develops more acid.

This increase can wear away at the lining and cause irritation to the stomach wall. Extra stomach acid can also flow into the esophagus which can irritate that tissue too.

This can result in pain and discomfort. Knowing how to treat stomach pain in the morning is very important for a healthy recovery.

Related Reading: Upper Central Abdominal Pain


Symptoms Associated with Morning Stomach Pain

What causes stomach pain in the morning? There are several different reasons for stomach pain in the morning. Some of which are caused by your genetics, others can develop from poor eating habits.

Being aware of what causes your stomach ache in the morning is the first step in resolving it. If you eat heavily before bed and waking up with stomach pain, then that is not good.

The symptoms you experience will vary depending on the severity of your condition. They can range from mild to severe.

If they are causing you to miss work or disrupting your daily life, then you should seek medical attention. Below is a list of different symptoms associated with stomach pain in the morning.

  • Constipation
  • Menstrual Cramps
  • Indigestion
  • Stomach virus
  • Food allergies
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Food poisoning
  • Ulcers
  • Hernia
  • Gas
  • Kidney stones
  • Gallstones
  • Appendicitis

Related Reading: What Side is Your Appendix On?


How to Relieve Stomach Pain in the Morning?

How to treat stomach pain in the morning is something that we all wonder. Using a home remedy to cure stomach pain in the morning is actually very easy. Many of the things you can use are able to be purchased at your local supermarket.

Be sure to check with your medical professional before doing any of these home treatments.

If your condition seems to be getting worse while doing any of these treatments, you should stop and seek medical help immediately.

Below are some home remedies to help fix stomach pain in the morning.

1. Try Starchy Foods

If you have stomach pain in the morning you may want to try and eat something that won’t upset your stomach more.

Try eating foods that are rich in starch, like rice, potatoes, and oats. These can help calm your stomach. Starches won’t sit in your stomach for a long period of time and they don’t stimulate acid reflux.

In the morning instead of that bowl of cereal try some oatmeal, a bowl of rice or grits. This can help soothe your stomach and maybe make the ache go away.

2. Eat Yogurt

Another cause of stomach pain in the morning is improper digestion. This can be caused by the good gut bacteria getting flushed out of your system or eating too much at a time.

A good way to revitalize this system is with yogurt, especially ones with live cultures in it. This has also been known to alleviate a stomach ache in the morning until you poop as the bacteria kind of kick starts everything.

Greek yogurt is filled with good bacteria that can get your digestive system back on track.

3. Eat Applesauce

Applesauce is a good food to eat when you have a stomach ache in the morning until you poop. It is starchy and has a low acidity to it, and filled with fiber.

This helps soothe your stomach and is easily digestible. If you are suffering from diarrhea a small bowl of this for breakfast can help alleviate your stomach ache.

4. Make Milk Toast

Stomach pain in the morning can be caused by an uneasy stomach. Two great things for this are milk and bread.

When combined these two ingredients have been known to coat your stomach and absorb the acid in it. The milk bread can do all of this without irritating your stomach too.

5. Eat a Banana

Bananas are known for their various health benefits. Being filled with the nutrition they are able to help with almost any ailment.

They contain potassium which helps with dehydration and irritated stomachs. They also have natural sugars which can help relieve any hunger pangs related to stomach pain.

6. Cut Up a Papaya

Papaya for breakfast has been found to alleviate stomach pain in the morning. These fruits are filled with papain and chymopapain which are enzymes. They help lower acidity and break down proteins in your stomach.

7. Head to the Bathroom

Your stomach pain in the morning could be a sign of irritable bowel syndrome. This is a condition where certain food causes you to relieve yourself shortly after eating.

Usually starting with cramps, this is not a subtle condition. Being aware of what causes your IBS and avoiding those things will help alleviate your symptoms. 

8. Avoidance

Being aware of what causes your stomach pain in the morning is the first part of recovering. Avoiding those foods will help with alleviating your symptoms.

It may also lead you to a better diagnosis of your problem if it is allergies or an intolerance to certain foods.


When to See a Doctor

With the term stomachache being so widely used for a variety of symptoms, you will want to call a doctor. They will be able to properly diagnose you and help with your treatment.

Avoiding the pain may result in a more severe condition later on. Depending on where and what the pain is, your condition could already be very bad.

If your pain does not go away on its own or with a home treatment you will want to call your doctor.

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Sources:
Ghandour RM, Overpeck MD, Huang ZJ, Kogan MD, Scheidt PC. Headache, Stomachache, Backache, and Morning Fatigue Among Adolescent Girls in the United States Associations With Behavioral, Sociodemographic, and Environmental Factors. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158(8):797–803. doi:10.1001/archpedi.158.8.797
Sullivan, S. N. (2012). Functional Abdominal Bloating with Distention. ISRN Gastroenterology, 2012, 721820. http://doi.org/10.5402/2012/721820
Sherman R. Abdominal Pain. In: Walker HK, Hall WD, Hurst JW, editors. Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition. Boston: Butterworths; 1990. Chapter 86. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK412/

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