Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science To Reclaim Your Well-Being

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.