Modern life brings a lot of different things to the table. Some good — like grocery delivery and remote work. And some bad — like endless reliance on technology, doom scrolling on social media, and the dreaded sedentary lifestyle. We need to talk about how much a sedentary lifestyle in menopause affects your body.
If you’re currently in perimenopause or menopause and experiencing symptoms like hot flashes, trouble sleeping, or weight gain…your activity level is an easy place to start when you’re looking to make improvements to these life-disrupting symptoms.
In this article, we’ll look at:
What is considered sedentary?
What does a sedentary lifestyle do to your body?
The major factors that make menopausal women especially likely to lead a sedentary lifestyle (even if they don’t want to!)
How active you really need to be
How to re-engineer your activity levels
Let’s take a look!
Define Sedentary
Perhaps the first question we need to tackle is obvious: what is a sedentary lifestyle?
Because it’s not exactly easy to define sedentary behavior, is it? You may think sedentary is a term reserved for someone who is bedridden.
But truthfully, the term "sedentary" refers to a lifestyle that involves little physical activity. A sedentary person spends most of their time sitting or lying down, with minimal time spent walking, running, or other forms of movement.
The official definition of sedentary is this: behavior that includes sitting (or leaning) with an energy expenditure of 1.5 metabolic equivalent task (MET) or less. (1)
But that’s not a very helpful definition for a layperson, is it?
Instead, let’s think about it in terms of steps. If you have a step counter on your wrist or your phone, you may be surprised to learn that less than 5,000 steps per day are considered sedentary…and the average American only walks between 3-4,000 steps. (2)
And let’s talk about common sedentary activities, which include:
Working in front of a computer
Playing video games
Watching television
Scrolling
Reading
Driving
That means if you commute and work a desk job and watch TV when you get home at night…and don’t counteract that with some pretty vigorous activity regularly — you may be considered sedentary.
Perhaps the best way to think about sedentary behavior is this: data suggest Americans spend an average of 8.5 hours a day using screens! (3)
How many hours did your screen time report on your phone show last week? How many more additional hours did you spend watching TV or working in front of a computer?
What Does Being Sedentary Do To Your Body?
So now that we’ve tackled the rather terrifying question “What’s sedentary mean?”
Let’s discuss the even scarier stuff and look at answering the more frightening question: How does a sedentary lifestyle affect health?
Because there are several sedentary lifestyle negative effects on health. Studies have shown repeatedly that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of all-cause mortality as well as the risks for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers. (4,5,6)
A sedentary lifestyle is also associated with:
Weight gain and obesity
Osteoporosis and osteopenia
Muscle loss
Joint pain
Mental health struggles
Overall, a sedentary lifestyle can reduce energy levels, impair sleep, and lead to a lower quality of life.
What’s more — these effects are particularly concerning during menopause, as the body's natural changes already increase vulnerability to most of these issues.
Sedentary Lifestyle Menopause Symptoms
Perhaps the most interesting thing about sedentary behavior is that it is tied to an increase in disruptive menopause symptoms like weight gain, mental health issues, and hot flashes. (7,8)
This is one of the big reasons I’m such a huge proponent of adopting a fitness routine in midlife and beyond.
Why Are Menopausal Women At Risk For Sedentary Behavior?
During menopause, many women may become more sedentary due to factors like fatigue, joint pain, and emotional changes. These physical and psychological shifts can make it challenging to maintain an active lifestyle, which can lead to a cycle of inactivity that further exacerbates the symptoms of menopause.
Hormone shifts in menopause can steal your motivation. They can disrupt your sleep, and even trigger depression.
All of these are very real things that most certainly affect how much activity you get on average.
Add that to the fact that most of us are sitting in front of a computer for most of the day. Then we’re sitting in front of the TV all night. And then we’re scrolling on the phone once we hit the bed.
All of this is a recipe for disaster when it comes to your hormones and your health.
How Many Steps A Day Do I Need?
So, how much do you really need to move in order to counteract the effects of a sedentary lifestyle?
As we discussed above, it’s ideal to get more than 5,000 steps a day on average.
But if you sit a lot, you may need to also do some moderate-to-rigorous exercise to the tune of at least 22 minutes a day to help counteract all that sitting. (9)
Ideally, to maintain your health, manage your weight and your menopause symptoms, aim for one of the following:
> 150-300 minutes of moderate exercise per week (such as walking or weightlifting), or
> 75-150 minutes of vigorous exercise per week (like running or biking).
These guidelines, established in 2018, provide a solid foundation for staying active. (10) However, recent research indicates that exceeding these recommendations can result in even greater health benefits. In other words, if you can double or even possibly triple these suggested amounts, you’ll likely see even better health outcomes. (11)
Beating A Sedentary Lifestyle In Menopause
When it comes to having a sedentary lifestyle vs an active lifestyle, these days it takes some serious effort to engineer an activity level that protects your health.
One of my favorite ways to make sure I’ve got enough in the tank to get the activity I need is to prioritize my sleep, with the help of my Night Zzz caps. These little beauties not only help my body and mind relax at night — but they also are packed with ingredients that support blood sugar and boost energy levels (and mood!) during the day. Seriously, Night Zzz is my secret weapon for getting deep, restful sleep that’s uninterrupted by hot flashes, aka night sweats.
If you’re struggling with getting the sleep you need to support the active lifestyle you desire, give them a try and let me know what you think! Click here to learn more about Night Zzz.
