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How to live longer (w/ Keith Diaz)

How to Be a Better Human

Hosted by Chris Duffy

41m
Transcript

Original podcast

Summary

Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.

Host Chris Duffy and exercise scientist Keith Diaz discuss how sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of chronic diseases and explore how small, manageable movement breaks can counteract these harms. Keith explains that you do not need to spend hours at the gym to stay healthy; simply taking a one-to-five-minute walking break every half hour to hour can significantly lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels while improving mood and energy. They also examine the barriers to building these habits at work and home, offering practical tips for breaking up long periods of sitting without requiring special equipment.

  • Incorporate short one-to-five-minute walking breaks every half hour to hour to offset the negative health effects of prolonged sitting. 7:34
  • Time your walks around meals to help your muscles act as sponges and absorb excess blood sugar. 14:34
  • Tie movement breaks to existing daily cues, such as finishing a work meeting or sending an email, rather than relying on reminders. 21:40
  • Track your movement by focusing on whether you stand up and move every hour rather than just counting total daily steps. 45:35

Chapters

  1. 0:00
    Podcast Intro & Listener Survey

    Hosts introduce the episode and request listeners to complete a survey.

  2. 0:53
    Meet Keith Diaz, Exercise Scientist

    Host introduces guest Keith Diaz and outlines the episode’s focus on combating sedentary lifestyles.

  3. 1:44
    Sedentary Lifestyle Risks Explained

    Keith Diaz explains how inactivity increases risk for chronic diseases and why it’s the default in North America.

  4. 2:51
    Movement Breaks Reduce Health Risks

    Keith details how short walking breaks every 30–60 minutes can offset many harms of sitting and improve mood.

  5. 9:20
    Practical Movement Breaks at Work

    Discussion of how to implement walking or body‑weight breaks in office settings and the importance of habit formation.

  6. 20:02
    Overcoming Social and Workplace Barriers

    Keith and host talk about changing office culture, getting managerial support, and using walking meetings to normalize movement.

  7. 27:49
    Movement for People with Limitations

    Keith explains alternative movement options such as arm cycling, chair exercises, and other adaptations for those with mobility issues.

  8. 29:57
    Integrating Movement at Home

    Host and Keith share ideas for adding movement into daily home life, from walking with kids to simple desk exercises.

  9. 43:24
    Scientific Mechanisms Behind Movement Benefits

    Keith explains how muscle contraction regulates blood sugar, triglycerides, and overall metabolic health.

  10. 44:47
    Choosing the Right Movement Metric

    Keith weighs the usefulness of steps versus other metrics for tracking daily movement and health impact.

  11. 45:24
    Tracking Movement with Wearables

    Explores how wearable metrics like Apple Watch can encourage regular movement throughout the day.

  12. 46:04
    Balancing Meals and Sedentary Time

    Discusses the harmful combo of large dinners followed by inactivity and offers practical tips for active jobs.

Highlights

Quotes

  • “So I think that's the short answer is just sprinkle in periodic movement throughout your day.”
    Unnamed speaker · 7:40
  • “It could be planks, it could be pushups, it could be jumping jacks.”
    Unnamed speaker · 11:24
  • “And I mean, those numbers, put it in, that reduction in blood sugar is similar to what you'd see if you put someone on medication for blood sugar levels.”
    Unnamed speaker · 12:00
  • “We take a medication daily for it, like you need it. Right? See movement in that same way that you need that dose as regularly as possible.”
    Unnamed speaker · 42:19
  • “I think that's a pretty harmful combo. So for those people who have like active jobs, I would just say, just be mindful of like, get a break or two in.”
    Unnamed speaker · 46:30
  • “I'm the only person ever in that stairway.”
    Unnamed speaker · 47:46
  • Smart Travel 3:47–4:26
  • Planet Visionaries 16:46–17:34
  • Wayfair 17:39–18:31
  • BetterHelp 18:43–19:41
  • Natural Resources Defense Council 31:59–32:18
  • We Share Health 32:26–33:17
  • Kohler Smart Toilets 33:25–34:31
  • Kohler Smart Toilets 50:13–51:48
  • Capital One 52:01–52:51

About this episode

Keith Diaz is an exercise scientist who studies the importance of movement to combat a sedentary lifestyle. He joins Chris to talk about how you can build better habits, and why simple alarm alerts might be more effective in motivating people to move than savvier tech like smart watches. Keith also shares why you need to activate your muscles to help you fight diseases and stay healthy. Featured guest Follow Keith Diaz on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithdiaz/Watch Ketih's TED Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_diaz_what_sitting_all_day_does_to_your_brain_and_body Connect with the team Follow Chris on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chrisiduffy/?hl=en and at chrisduffycomedy.com https://chrisduffycomedy.com/Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me https://t.ted.com/ZGuYfcL Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDPods https://www.youtube.com/@TEDPodsFollow TED on X https://x.com/TEDTalks, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ted, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TED, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences/, and TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoksVote for our show in the Signal Awards for Best Advice & How To https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/genre/advice-how-to podcast! For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts https://go.ted.com/BHTranscripts Fill out our survey at bit.ly/BHSurvey6 https://bit.ly/BHSurvey6 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

0:00
41:57

10,432 words · 8 speakers

Speaker names marked are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

Topics

  • TED Talk
  • Apple Watch
  • CGM
  • Columbia University
  • North America
  • Fitbit
  • Humor Me
  • Kohler Smart Toilet
  • Kohler Vale Smart Toilet
  • Samsung Galaxy 837 5G

Page updated · transcript and summary are machine-generated