You may gain some insight from the following section I lifted from this webpage: http://www.entandallergy.com/vas/services/reflux.php You'll find mention of the "typical" daily vs. nightly reflux patterns.
Personally, I can have burning either day or night, but it's the nightly symptoms which I notice each morning.
-Bruce
Symptoms
GERD (GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease) symptoms are typically different than LPR (LaryngoPharyngeal Reflux) symptoms, but patients can have symptoms generally associated with either GERD or LPR.
Classic GERD symptoms are: Heartburn; regurgitation.
LPR Symptoms are: Hoarseness; frequent throat clearing; increased phlegm; post-nasal drip; chronic cough; difficulty swallowing (dysphagia); lump-like sensation in throat; choking sensation.
Laryngo-Pharyngeal Reflux (LPR) is DIFFERENT from Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) . The "CLASSIC" Symptoms of GERD in a typical ESOPHAGITIS patient are HEARTBURN - 83%, COUGH - 47%, DYSPHAGIA - 40%, REGURGITATION - 23% (1). On the contrary, the typical symptoms of LPR in the typical ENT patient are HOARSENESS - 71%, CHRONIC COUGH - 51%, DYSPHAGIA - 51% GLOBUS - 47%, THROAT CLEARING - 42%, HEARTBURN and/or REGURGITATION - 10%-33% (2, 3, 4).
The reflux pattern in the typical GERD patient is a supine, nocturnal reflux (patient
refluxing while lying flat at night) while the LPR patient generally refluxes while upright during the day (2, 3).
Esophageal function in the GERD patient generally demonstrates esophageal dysmotility with significantly prolonged esophageal acid clearance times and Lower Esophageal Sphincter dysfunction. In contrast, the LPR patient has good esophageal function with near normal esophageal acid clearance. Generally, LPR patients have Upper Esophageal Sphincter dysfunction (5, 6). In addition, the larynx is far more susceptible to acid injury than esophagus because in the larynx there are no acid clearing mechanisms (peristalsis; salivary bicarbonate) and the laryngeal tissues are thin, fragile and poorly adapted to protect against reflux. One normally refluxes about 50 times a day from the stomach into the esophagus. If as few as 2 of those normal reflux events contact the laryngeal tissues, it is abnormal, and changes in the laryngeal tissues can result (3, 7). Therefore, it is LARYNGEAL EDEMA, or swelling, not ERYTHEMA, or redness, that is the clinical hallmark of LPR (4).