Body Electric: Type, tap, scroll, BREATHE! How our tech use impacts our breath

TED Radio Hour

NPR

Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Science, Technology

4.4 • 21.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do you have "screen apnea"? Our special series Body Electric continues with former Microsoft executive Linda Stone who coined the term. Around 2007, Linda noticed she had an unhealthy habit while answering emails: she held her breath. On this episode, she tells host Manoush Zomorodi how she tested her friends and colleagues for "screen apnea" and what she's done since.

Then, Manoush talks to the bestselling author of Breath, science writer James Nestor, who explains how shallow breathing impacts our physical and mental health. He takes us through a simple exercise to 'reset' our breath and relieve screen time stress.

Binge the whole Body Electric series here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Ted Radio Hour listener, it's Manouche. We are continuing our special series called Body Electric,
0:06.7	which is all about how our tech habits are impacting our physical health. Today we are exploring the relationship between screens and how
0:17.0	we breathe. Maybe you've been holding your breath while you scroll, you don't even realize it.
0:24.0	Hopefully this episode will help you out and if you like it,
0:28.0	please go to the Body Electric Feed for more.
0:31.0	All the episodes from season one are there. Plus all we're doing for
0:36.6	season two which includes five-minute walk-and-talks for you to listen to when you
0:41.9	take your breaks from your technology. Oh you're not
0:44.9	doing that yet? Hmm you better go listen.
0:49.2	Hey it's Manouche. I've been a journalist covering technology and how it changes us for over
0:59.8	a decade. And a woman named Linda Stone was someone I had read about and would
1:05.4	occasionally bump into pretty much from the beginning. My name is Linda Stone and
1:11.0	I worked at Apple for seven and a half or eight years and I worked at
1:15.1	Microsoft for a little over eight years. Linda has a background in educational
1:20.4	psychology. She did marketing, innovation, and research all those years. But what
1:25.3	made her well known in certain nerdy circles was what she did outside of her work at those
1:32.0	tech companies.
1:33.5	It all started in 2007.
1:35.6	In 2007, I was experiencing some health challenges.
1:39.8	And as a result of that, I began to work with someone on breathing techniques and breathing exercises.
1:48.0	And I noticed day after day that once I got to my computer I was either holding my breath for long
1:55.5	periods of time or I was breathing very shallowly and this would go on for hours.
	...

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