TED Talks

TED talks on wellness and health related topics, to inspire and motivate.

TED Playlist: 
What Makes Us Happy?
 
We all want to be happy. But how, exactly, do you go about it? More stuff or less? More choice or less? The answers -- from psychologists, journalists, Buddhist monks -- may surprise you.

Rebecca Onie: What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?

Rebecca Onie asks audacious questions: What if waiting rooms were a place to improve daily health care? What if doctors could prescribe food, housing and heat in the winter? At TEDMED she describes Health Leads, an organization that does just that -- and does it by building a volunteer base as elite and dedicated as a college sports team.

Roger Ebert: Remaking My Voice

When film critic Roger Ebert lost his lower jaw to cancer, he lost the ability to eat and speak. But he did not lose his voice. In a moving talk from TED2011, Ebert and his wife, Chaz, with friends Dean Ornish and John Hunter, come together to tell his remarkable story.

Matt Cutts: 
Try Something New for 30 Days

Is there something you've always meant to do, wanted to do, but just ... haven't? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.

John Wooden: The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding

With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom.

A.J. Jacobs: How Healthy Living Nearly Killed Me

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you followed every single piece of health advice you ever heard? Well, luckily, you don’t have to, since that’s pretty much what A.J. Jacobs did (and we don’t recommend it). Jacob’s hilarious experience is a great reminder that in an overwhelming world of health and fitness advice, it's important to go one step at a time, maintain a sense of humor, and keep perspective about what’s most important in life. 

Matt Killingsworth: Want to Be Happier?  Stay in the Moment

When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth built an app, Track Your Happiness, that let people report their feelings in real time. Among the surprising results: We're often happiest when we're lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be. 

Jeff Speck: The Walkable City

How do we solve the problem of the suburbs? Urbanist Jeff Speck shows how we can free ourselves from dependence on the car -- which he calls "a gas-belching, time-wasting, life-threatening prosthetic device" -- by making our cities more walkable and more pleasant for more people.

Shawn Achor:
The Happy Secret to Better Work

We believe that we should work to be happy, but could that be backwards? In this fast-moving and entertaining talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that actually happiness inspires productivity.

Sandra Aamodt:
Why Dieting Doesn't Usually Work

In the US, 80% of girls have been on a diet by the time they're 10 years old. In this honest, raw talk, neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt uses her personal story to frame an important lesson about how our brains manage our bodies, as she explores the science behind why dieting not only doesn't work, but is likely to do more harm than good. She suggests ideas for how to live a less diet-obsessed life, intuitively.

Want more?  Check out out this link for The 22 Best TED Talks for Fitness, Health and Happiness Inspiration.