The fastest way to relieve indigestion is to take an over-the-counter antacid, which neutralizes stomach acid within minutes. If you don’t have one handy, a half teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in cold water works on the same principle. Beyond those quick fixes, several body positions, breathing techniques, and habit changes can ease discomfort right now and keep it from coming back.
Antacids Work Fastest
Not all acid-reducing medications work at the same speed. Chewable antacids (the calcium carbonate tablets you’ll find under brands like Tums or Rolaids) act within minutes because they directly neutralize the acid already in your stomach. The trade-off is that relief doesn’t last very long, typically an hour or two.
A step up in duration are H2 blockers like famotidine. These take about an hour to kick in and work by reducing how much acid your stomach produces. If you know a trigger meal is coming, taking one 30 to 60 minutes beforehand can prevent symptoms entirely. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like omeprazole are the strongest option but the slowest: they take one to four days to reach full effect. They’re designed for recurring problems, not a quick fix tonight.
For immediate relief, grab an antacid. For planned protection before a meal, an H2 blocker is the better choice.
The Baking Soda Shortcut
If you don’t have antacids at home, ordinary baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) does essentially the same thing. It’s a base that neutralizes stomach acid on contact. Mayo Clinic guidelines recommend dissolving half a teaspoon in a full glass of cold water. You can repeat this every two hours if needed, but don’t exceed five teaspoons in a single day.
This is a short-term fix only. If you find yourself reaching for baking soda regularly, that’s a sign something else is going on. Don’t use it for more than two weeks straight. It’s also high in sodium, so it’s not ideal if you’re watching your salt intake.
Change Your Position
Gravity is your ally. If indigestion hits while you’re lying down or lounging on the couch, sit upright or stand. This alone can reduce the amount of acid pushing back up into your esophagus. Avoid bending over, which compresses your stomach and forces acid upward.
If you need to lie down, choose your left side. When you’re on your left, the junction between your esophagus and stomach sits higher than the pool of acid below, so acid drains away from the opening rather than toward it. Lying on your right side does the opposite, positioning that junction below the acid level and making reflux worse. Propping your head and upper body up with an extra pillow or two helps as well.
Try Deep Belly Breathing
This one sounds unlikely, but diaphragmatic breathing, the kind where your belly rises and falls rather than your chest, physically strengthens the barrier between your stomach and esophagus. Research measuring the pressure at that barrier found it nearly doubled during deep belly breaths (jumping from about 23 to 42 mmHg), which helps keep acid where it belongs. The technique also reduced the number of reflux episodes after meals.
To do it: sit or recline comfortably, place one hand on your chest and one on your belly, and breathe in slowly through your nose so that only your belly hand rises. Exhale slowly through pursed lips. Five minutes of this during an indigestion episode can make a noticeable difference, and it costs nothing.
Walk, Don’t Lie Down After Eating
A gentle 10 to 15 minute walk after a meal helps your stomach empty faster and reduces the pressure that causes acid to back up. This doesn’t mean vigorous exercise, which can actually worsen symptoms by jostling your stomach contents. A slow stroll around the block or even just standing and moving around the house is enough.
The key timing rule: don’t eat within two to three hours of lying down. Late-night meals are one of the most common indigestion triggers because you go horizontal before your stomach has finished its work.
Peppermint Oil Capsules (With a Caveat)
Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, which can relieve the cramping and bloating side of indigestion. NHS guidelines recommend one enteric-coated capsule three times a day, taken 30 to 60 minutes before food, swallowed whole with water. Don’t chew or break the capsule, because uncoated peppermint oil released in the stomach can actually make heartburn worse.
And that’s the caveat: peppermint relaxes the valve at the top of your stomach too. If your primary symptom is acid reflux or burning rather than bloating and cramping, peppermint can backfire. It’s better suited for the “heavy, uncomfortable fullness” type of indigestion than the “burning chest” type.
Know Your Trigger Foods
Certain foods and drinks relax the muscular valve between your esophagus and stomach, letting acid escape upward. The most reliable culprits are alcohol, chocolate, coffee, high-fat foods, and mint. Carbonated drinks cause a different problem: they inflate your stomach with gas, which builds enough pressure to force that valve open mechanically.
You don’t necessarily have to eliminate all of these permanently. But if you’re dealing with indigestion right now, avoid them for the rest of the day. And if you notice a pattern with a specific food, reducing your portion size or pairing it with other foods can sometimes be enough to prevent symptoms.
Acupressure for Nausea
If your indigestion comes with nausea, pressure point P-6 on your inner wrist is worth trying. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recommends it for nausea relief. To find it, place three fingers across your inner wrist starting at the crease. The point sits just below where your index finger lands, between the two tendons you can feel when you flex your wrist.
Press your thumb into that spot and move it in small circles for two to three minutes, then switch to the other wrist. You can repeat this several times throughout the day. It won’t neutralize stomach acid, but it can take the edge off the nauseous, queasy feeling that often accompanies indigestion.
When Indigestion Isn’t Indigestion
Most indigestion is uncomfortable but harmless. Occasionally, though, what feels like indigestion is actually a heart problem. Even experienced doctors can’t always tell the difference without testing. Typical indigestion burns in the chest and upper abdomen, usually starts after eating or when lying down, comes with a sour taste in the mouth, and responds to antacids.
Heart-related chest pain is more likely to feel like pressure, tightness, or squeezing that spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, or back. It may come with shortness of breath, cold sweat, sudden dizziness, or unusual fatigue. Women are more likely than men to experience the less obvious symptoms like jaw pain, back pain, and nausea without the classic crushing chest pressure. If your symptoms include any of these features, especially if they don’t respond to an antacid and you have risk factors for heart disease, call emergency services rather than waiting it out.