Our eating culture over the last few decades has changed. We used to eat our main meal at lunchtime and now we eat late into the night. Our digestive powers are at its greatest earlier on in the day and they diminish as the day goes on, they also diminish as we age.
There is an epidemic of digestive issues in the UK, which are worsened by late eating. Try to consume your main meal as early as possible and the longer you have for digestion then the better your body will feel and your sleep will also improve. Leaving at least 3 hours before finishing food and going to bed is preferable but the minimum should be 2 hours.
If you do find yourself with a full stomach before going to bed then lie on your right side as this enables gravity to assist with the flow of the stomach contents. Lying on the left side will squash the stomach, slow down digestion and also hinder the natural flow of the contents as it’s going against gravity. Taking a good digestive enzyme before food is very helpful too.