Body electric : the hidden health costs of the digital age and new science to reclaim your well-being / Manoush Zomorodi.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"A compelling, necessary and hopeful read for our busy, burned out, overwhelming and tech-addicted times. This book will make you want to move!" ―Brigid Schulte, New York Times bestselling author of Over Work

From award-winning journalist and host of NPR's TED Radio Hour Manoush Zomorodi, a timely investigation into how screens and sitting are reshaping our bodies―and how a simple shift can change everything.

In today's world, a perfectly normal day means sitting in front of a screen for eight to ten hours. Meeting after meeting. Task after task. Email after email. If we're not chained to our chairs, we're attached to our devices, looking down at our phones and plugging in headphones. And then we go home, sit down on the couch, and scroll some more before going to bed and doing it all over again. Even children are not exempt: Many hours of their social and academic lives are spent on a screen.

We all know there has to be a better way--but what is it? In Body Electric, Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour and the Body Electric podcast, draws on expert interviews, cutting-edge research, and real experiences from tens of thousands of everyday participants in her own citizen experiment to reveal the surprising physiological costs of our digital existences, from posture problems and dwindling eyesight to disrupted breathing and weight gain, and shares scientifically-backed, easy-to-manage tactics and solutions for better health and well-being. Along the way, she also debunks myths and misconceptions about what helps and hurts us, offers useful insights into the labs, offices, schools, and homes where small shifts are making big difference, culminating in an easy-to-apply protocol that will get us all moving.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In 2023, journalist Zomorodi (Spark: How To Free Your Brain from Technology To Ignite Your Creativity) and Keith Diaz launched the Body Electric study to try to reverse the negative health effects of people's increasingly sedentary, tech-fueled lifestyles. They challenged participants to move more--not just adding workouts, but taking five-minute movement breaks every 30 minutes. Zomorodi first dug into these results on NPR's Body Electric podcast and continues to do so in this book. (Diaz contributes a foreword.) The research is clear: days dominated by sitting, screens, and unceasing streams of information have dire consequences on our minds and bodies. Participants in the Body Electric study reported improved mood, focus, and biomarkers, among other benefits. Despite these benefits, introducing dozens of breaks into already packed, exhausting days can seem extremely daunting. But with warmth, humor, and scads of footnotes, Zomorodi deftly lays out practical ways for people of all ages and abilities to retool their routines to increase movement and break time. Each chapter includes summaries of its major points and to-do lists for maximum accessibility. VERDICT Anyone looking to (literally and figuratively) unseat tech's detrimental effects on their health will appreciate this well-researched, pragmatic title.--Lauren Seegmiller

Publishers Weekly Review

Sedentary, screen-dominated lifestyles have left Americans increasingly vulnerable to health problems ranging from obesity and cardiovascular disease to mental illness, according to this competent if familiar treatise. Zomorodi (Bored and Brilliant), host of NPR's TED Radio Hour, unpacks the sedentary epidemic, noting that today's schoolchildren spend 70% of the day seated and more than 80% of American jobs consist of mostly at-desk activities, a trend exacerbated by the advent of remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic. While strenuous bouts of exercise several times a week are healthy, they don't compensate for prolonged periods of sitting; readers would be better served taking frequent, shorter breaks (five minutes of movement per every half hour spent at rest), which restart key biological processes that keep blood pressure and glucose levels in check, and oxygen supply optimal. Zomorodi's message won't be new to most readers, but they'll be edified by her lucid explanations of how the modern American lifestyle harms eyesight, hearing, posture, and attention span, as well as her actionable instructions for incorporating exercise into daily routines, from tracking signs of physical overwhelm to coordinating walks with rhythmic breathing. The result is a valuable complement to such books as Michel Desmurget's Screen Damage. (May)

Booklist Review

Get out of that chair! Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour, convincingly makes the case that people will feel better if they move often. The average American spends the equivalent of 187 days per year sitting. In his foreword, exercise physiologist Keith Diaz calls this "full-fledged sloth mode" a tragedy. Zomorodi and Diaz enlisted over 20,000 NPR listeners in a study of the health effects of a sedentary, screen-filled life and found that frequent movement breaks of even five minutes could counteract the harm of a seated life. Too much sitting increases the risks for heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and early death. Human eyes aren't built for staring at screens, and human ears aren't built for so much high-volume sound. Zomorodi likes "a long, dull walk," popular for centuries with philosophers, writers, and great thinkers. Be bored. Let the mind wander. Big ideas, including the plan for this book, begin to surface. Zomorodi tucks in can-do tips, like breathing through the nose and protecting "sleep opportunities" by keeping devices out of reach. An empowering call to get up and get moving.

Kirkus Book Review

An argument for building small bursts of movement into the day--an antidote to stalled-out health resolutions and a reminder that sustainable change need not be grand to be transformative. For Zomorodi, host of NPR's "TED Radio Hour," the evidence is stark: Long hours of typing, scrolling, and sitting are harming our health. Without abandoning our devices, embracing brief, regular movement--walking or simply moving around the house or office--can offset sedentary time. With colleagues at NPR and Columbia University, she launched the Body Electric study, which drew more than 20,000 participants from around the world. Zomorodi joined as well and found that even for a healthy person, doing five minutes of movement every 30 minutes significantly lowered blood pressure and blood sugar. Environmental factors can also foster better health. She points to "blue zones," including Sardinia, Greece, and Costa Rica, where many residents enjoy high-quality lives past age 100. Studies, she notes, link happiness and social connection to longer life, and "People who maintain responsibilities as they age--whether it's preparing meals, helping raise grandchildren, or tending gardens--tend to age better." Such engagement helps sustain a "fluffy," resilient brain. Communities can also contribute. In 2009, the community of Albert Lea, Minnesota, redesigned infrastructure to encourage walking. "By the end of the project, 1,100 residents had joined walking groups, and remarkably, 60 percent of them were still active five years later. Collectively, Albert Lea residents self-reported losing 7,280 pounds. The city reported a 40 percent reduction in healthcare costs for its workers." Zomorodi argues that such changes can radically improve public health. She concludes, "underneath all the data and advice, it really comes down to this: What kind of old person do you want to be?" This upbeat, lively volume heartily encourages all ages to take a stand. Look up from your screens--sitting is the new smoking, warns this commonsense guide to incorporating movement into daily life. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.