Copyright © 2026 VPM, all rights reserved.
PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
VPM News Morning Edition
NEXT UP: 9:00 AM

Thanks to our sponsors – Become a Sponsor

5-minute movement breaks could be a game-changer for your health

Part 1 of TED Radio Hour’s “Tracking what your body needs

Too much sitting can take a serious toll on your health. Exercise scientist Keith Diaz says the antidote is surprisingly simple: 5-minute movement breaks woven throughout your daily routine.

About Keith Diaz

Keith Diaz is an exercise physiologist and associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. His research was featured in NPR’s podcast series Body Electric, and he authored the foreword to Manoush Zomorodi’s book, Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Wellbeing. His research focuses on how sedentary behavior contributes to cardiovascular disease, and he has developed simple, effective guidelines to help people sit less and move more. His work on sedentary behavior has been featured in multiple publications, and he is an an expert in physical activity monitoring through wearable tech.

Web Resources

Related TED Talk: The brain-changing benefits of exercise

Related TED Talk: Do you really need to take 10,000 steps a day?

Related NPR Links

Body Electric: 5 minute walk & talk: Physiologist Keith Diaz hates timers and doesn’t count steps

Body Electric: So much sitting, looking at screens. Can we combat our sedentary lives?

TED Radio Hour: Do your brain a favor — move your body

Copyright 2026 NPR

Tags

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.

Related Stories