< 5 minute walk & talk: The low-tech gadget to make your breaks better

MANOUSH ZOMORODI, HOST:

Hey there. It's Manoush...

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ZOMORODI: ...And this is the grand finale of BODY ELECTRIC Season 2. All this season, we've been getting off our screens and getting movement into our lives with special five-minute episodes. We have walked and talked with a physiologist, a world-famous memoirist, an emergency room doctor and many, many more. We have also done some longer episodes, investigating how wearing earbuds all the time is affecting us, what intimate relationships with chatbots are doing to our health - some good, we found out, some not so good - and what our tech use does to our breath. So in that breath episode, we heard from former Microsoft executive Linda Stone. She coined the term screen apnea, and we wanted to bring Linda back for this final episode because she has developed her own special technique to keep her tech from messing with her health and her breath. I find it incredibly inspiring, and it starts by always keeping a very special tool - a kazoo - next to her laptop.

LINDA STONE: Yeah. Take breaks and play the kazoo, either sitting, or walk around and play the kazoo.

ZOMORODI: That might be one of the weirdest, best tips we've ever gotten on this series.

STONE: Well, and you can - I mean, you can take - honestly, you can take, like, three minutes and walk around and do "Yankee Doodle." It might be more fun than getting a glass of water.

ZOMORODI: (Laughter) I love this. OK, great.

STONE: Do you want me to get my kazoo? I could get my kazoo.

ZOMORODI: Yes, I do (laughter) want you to get your kazoo.

STONE: I need to walk into the other room.

ZOMORODI: Yep, I still hear you. OK. I'm at my desk, and I am doing my side-to-side shuffle, getting my muscles moving.

STONE: And what would you like on the kazoo? We can do...

ZOMORODI: Oh, you take requests.

STONE: ..."Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

ZOMORODI: Sure, yeah.

STONE: Now, I will confess that I often do "Yankee Doodle."

ZOMORODI: Yeah, I - you know, maybe I should sing along with you to get myself breathing, as well. I don't have a kazoo.

STONE: I wish you did because you could feel that your abdominal muscles really activate when you play the kazoo.

ZOMORODI: I know.

STONE: (Playing kazoo).

ZOMORODI: (Laughter) OK. (Singing) A real, live nephew of my Uncle Sam.

STONE: (Playing kazoo).

ZOMORODI: (Humming). Ooh, you're jaunty, Linda. I like it.

STONE: (Playing kazoo).

ZOMORODI: And here she comes.

STONE: If you could - yeah, if you - the thing that I like about "Yankee Doodle" is it really gets my whole body activated...

ZOMORODI: (Laughter) Yeah.

STONE: ...And gets my abdominal muscles activated.

ZOMORODI: Can I just tell how much better I feel? I've been at my desk all day, and I meant to take a break - I really did. And then I didn't, and I...

STONE: Manoush, give me your address, and I'll send you a kazoo.

ZOMORODI: (Laughter) OK. Definitely. Wait, so there's another - you talked about another breath that people can take at any time to sort of get things going.

STONE: The physiological sigh. Would you like to do that together?

ZOMORODI: Ooh, let's, yes. Should I stand for that, as well?

STONE: You can do it standing or sitting...

ZOMORODI: OK, we'll keep going with the break.

STONE: ...And it's really effective both ways, and it also, if you do it eight times...

ZOMORODI: Yeah.

STONE: ...It can lower your blood pressure. So it's a long...

ZOMORODI: OK.

STONE: I'm going to talk you through it.

ZOMORODI: OK.

STONE: It's a long, long inhale through the nose.

ZOMORODI: (Inhaling).

STONE: Hold it, then a short inhale through the nose.

ZOMORODI: (Inhaling).

STONE: Hold it, and then a long exhale through the mouth.

ZOMORODI: (Exhaling).

STONE: And let's do that at least three times because I think after three times, you'll feel it. So long inhale.

ZOMORODI: (Inhaling).

STONE: Short inhale.

ZOMORODI: (Inhaling).

STONE: Long exhale.

ZOMORODI: (Exhaling).

STONE: Long inhale.

ZOMORODI: (Inhaling).

STONE: Short inhale.

ZOMORODI: (Inhaling).

STONE: Long exhale through the mouth.

ZOMORODI: (Exhaling).

STONE: Do you notice anything?

ZOMORODI: Well, I'm calmer.

STONE: Yeah, it's very calming, and it does bring you back into your body. You can feel your feet on the floor.

ZOMORODI: I have to ask you a question, and don't be mad at me, but can I (laughter) - can I do that while I'm also working on my computer, or is that not in the spirit of what we've been talking about?

STONE: I use the physiological sigh all the time.

ZOMORODI: Oh, you do?

STONE: I use it if I'm waiting for the elevator, and it's not coming fast enough. I use it when I'm sitting and I can't - and I feel overwhelmed from an email that I got, or from what I need to do. I use it before I go to sleep at night. I use it when I get to the doctor's office and have white coat syndrome before my blood pressure gets checked. I use the physiological sigh constantly throughout the day, and it is, for me personally, the best breathing technique that I've discovered.

ZOMORODI: This has been an absolute pleasure, Linda.

STONE: Well, I love what you're doing with the BODY ELECTRIC, so thank you.

ZOMORODI: I'm grateful to you for being a part of it.

STONE: All right. Take good care.

ZOMORODI: Bye.

STONE: Bye.

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ZOMORODI: Linda is something else. All right. Thank you so much for joining us for this five-minute kazoo break. If you do try out Linda's kazoo practice, you got to send us a photo or a voice memo at bodyelectric@npr.org. We would love to hear how it goes. If it's easier, I'm also on Instagram, @manoushz.

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ZOMORODI: And now, perhaps you're wondering what happens next for BODY ELECTRIC. Yes, this is the end of the fantastically fun and motivating Season 2, but BODY ELECTRIC lives on. How? Well, our newsletter has been a surprise breakout hit. Tens of thousands of you are signed up, which is so awesome. So while we work on new audio, the newsletter is going to keep coming. Every two weeks, I will be in your inbox with tips, the latest research and profiles of people who are living better with their technology - because as we've learned, we don't have to feel drained and exhausted at the end of the day. It is not easy, but together, we can stay sharp and energized and more embodied after all those hours on Zoom and email, so let's keep this going together. Recruit someone you know to get through the rest of 2024 and beyond with us. Just go to npr.org/bodyelectric to sign up if you haven't already. We will keep you posted on everything that's going on, all things BODY ELECTRIC, and meanwhile, thank you so, so much for being here. Talk to you soon.

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