May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and while you may be aware of the effects of digital devices on our mental health, a new book explores the impact on our physical health.
Manoush Zomorodi is an award-winning journalist, author and host of NPR’s "TED Radio Hour," heard Sundays at noon on WUFT and on demand as a popular podcast. Her first book, "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self" (2017), and the accompanying TED Talk on the attention economy made her a go-to expert on our screen-saturated age. Her new book is "Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being."
Feeling “wired and tired,” as she puts it, after hours at work typing, swiping, scrolling and sitting, Zomorodi found herself doing more of the same at home and wanted to learn what could be done. After interviewing renowned scientists, doctors, and other experts, she teamed up with Dr. Keith Diaz, a researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center who studies the physiological effects of sedentary behavior. Collaborating with NPR and Columbia University Medical Center, they created the "Body Electric" project, a global citizen science challenge involving over 20,000 participants, one of the largest public health studies of its kind. The data from that study, and much more, can be found in Zomorodi’s book, "Body Electric."
WUFT’s "Morning Edition" host, Glenn Richards, spoke with Zomorodi about the book and the “Body Electric protocol,” how breaking up screen time with frequent, short movement breaks offers measurable benefits, including better mood, more energy, less fatigue and overall better physical health.
The book builds on the popular "Body Electric" podcast, expanding it into a much larger story about what the digital age is doing to our bodies. Diaz calls it “a blueprint for reclaiming our bodies from the unintended consequences technological advances have had on our health.”
“The good news is that you don’t have to toss your phone or quit your job," Zomorodi says. "You just have to move and reconnect with your body.”
Watch Manoush Zomorodi's TED Talk at TEDNext 2025:
