In today’s world, many of us spend a large portion of our day sitting—whether it’s at work, commuting, or unwinding in front of a screen. A sedentary lifestyle, characterized by minimal physical activity, has become increasingly common. While the negative effects of being sedentary on physical health—like weight gain, cardiovascular issues, and decreased muscle tone—are well-known, fewer people realize that it can also have a profound impact on sleep quality. In this blog post, we’ll explore how a sedentary lifestyle affects sleep and offer tips to combat these effects.

Why Good Sleep is Important for Losing/Maintaining Weight

If you want to lose weight, or at least make managing your weight easier, find a comfortable bed and get busy sleeping. You should be getting at least 7 hours of sleep per day, but 8 or 9 is significantly better. Getting a healthy night’s rest can make a tremendous difference in all areas of trying to lose weight, including:

• Moderating appetite
• Working out more often and more intensely
• Make choices that are good for weight
• Help you maintain healthy stress and insulin levels, which are critical for managing weight

A lack of sleep affects your ability to manage or lose weight in many frustrating ways. Continue reading to learn the role that sleep plays in weight management and control. 

What is Chronic Sleep Deprivation?

Sleep deprivation is a chronic condition of not receiving adequate sleep. Adequate sleep will differ from person to person, and change as we age. Most of us suffer from sleep deprivation because we either have trouble staying asleep, or getting to sleep. Sound familiar?

It's also important to distinguish between short-term sleep deprivation, such as sleep deprivation caused by anxieties or stress that will soon pass, and long-term sleep deprivation, such as a chronic lack of sleep that may spread over months or years.

Sleep deprivation is usually followed by sleep binging (i.e. on the weekends) before the cycle of sleep deprivation starts over. Chronic sleep deprivation has a strong link to depression. One of the common signs of insomnia and sleep apnea, for example, is depression.