A 50th minute goal by Joe Gatting was enough to get the Seagulls flying high again, but it was the defensive qualities that were so important in ending the losing run.
Chesterfield had plenty of the ball but created few chances and goalkeeper Michels Kuipers did not have a serious save to make.
It was a different story when it came to kicking and both goalkeepers had some anxious moments on a day when a strong winds made it hard to judge the flight of the ball.
Conditions generally were poor and it was no surprise that the game did not flow, although Brighton came with the intention of keeping it tight.
They defended with great spirit and, with Guy Butters organising the young players around him, they grew in confidence.
Chesterfield probed for an opening but the final ball too often lacked quality and it was the visitors who almost stole the lead in the first half.
Dean Cox tried a right-foot shot from 25 yards and the wind took the ball over Michael Jordan and off the top of the bar.
Cox was only a foot or so away with another wind assisted long-range effort but at half-time Brighton would have been happy with a blank scoreline.
They were even happier five minutes into the second half when a corner from Sam Rents went across a crowded six-yard box and Gatting applied the finishing touch at the back post for his third goal in six games.
Another corner from Rents bounced off a post and Brighton should have wrapped up the points in the 63rd minute when a mis-timed header from Reuben Hazell put Jake Robinson through but he failed to take the ball past Jordan.
Chesterfield looked more threatening when Paul Hall came on but Brighton still stood firm and on the break Robinson was threatening to kill the game off.
But his finishing did not match his running and Chesterfield could have equalised when another substitute Colin Larkin turned and drove in a shot from 20 yards that flew narrowly wide.
Caleb Folan almost got clear a minute later but Kuipers was out quickly to clear and the home side's last hope vanished in stoppage time when Larkin's control let him down after he burst through on the right.