Laying on Right Side Worsens Acid Reflux!

Well that's according to a recent New York Times article on October 25, 2010.

This claim is based on several studies published whereby “the total amount of reflux time was significantly greater” when the subjects laid on their right side after eating a high-fat meal.

This makes sense anatomically. Keep in mind that the stomach is located on the left side and the esophagus (swallowing tube) is located in the middle (comes off the stomach's "right side" so to speak). When you lay down on the right side, gravity is literally "emptying" the stomach into the esophagus located in the middle. Laying on the left side has gravity keeping stomach contents inside the stomach as the middle is now above the stomach.

Of course, the best thing to do is lifestyle changes to minimize reflux including- avoid eating high-fat, spicy, acidic foods as well as not eating/drinking within 3 hours of laying down when the stomach is empty. Keeping the head and chest elevated 30 degrees is also helpful thereby using gravity to help keep things down. Mattress wedges are helpful. Should lifestyle changes not help, there are plenty of medications that can help.

Read the NYT article here.

Read more about reflux here.

References:
Body position affects recumbent postprandial reflux. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1994 Jun;18(4):280-3.

Effect of different recumbent positions on postprandial gastroesophageal reflux in normal subjects. Am J Gastroenterol. 2000 Oct;95(10):2731-6.

Most People Prefer Right Ear for Listening

A well-known asymmetry in humans is the right ear dominance for listening to verbal stimuli, which is thought to reflect the brain's left hemisphere superiority for processing verbal information. This preference for hearing with the right ear is also found in rats, Japanese macaques, harpy eagles, sea lions and dogs.

However, the left ear (and right brain) excels at picking up emotional cues. When it comes to music, pitch, timbre and loudness are discriminated better with left ear (right hemisphere), but duration is better discriminated with the right ear (left hemisphere).

These findings may explain why people are not entirely satisfied when using hearing aids for only one ear. Ideally, BOTH ears should be aided. BUT, if one had to choose between two equally deaf ears, the right ear would be the preferred side.

Read the article here.

Read the research article abstract here.