Tired, anxious, forgetful? You might be breathing wrong

VPM | By Manoush Zomorodi, Katie Monteleone, James Delahoussaye and Sanaz Meshkinpour

Published May 15, 2026 at 12:55 PM EDT

Science journalist James Nestor spent ten days breathing only through his mouth, and his health collapsed. He says bad breathing habits are the source of many chronic health issues we face today.

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode “How to feel alive in an exhausting world“

From sleep apnea to heart disease, science journalist James Nestor shares what habitual mouth breathing is quietly doing to your body.

About James Nestor

James Nestor is a journalist who has written for Outside, The New York Times, and Scientific American. His book is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and James Delahoussaye. It was edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour and Manoush Zomorodi. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

Related TED Talk: What your breath could reveal about your health

Related TED Talk: Art made of the air we breathe

Related TED Talk: Mindfulness

Related NPR Links

TED Radio Hour: Breathe

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

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Manoush Zomorodi

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

See stories by Manoush Zomorodi