“Watch” your health
“The smartwatch is my favorite thing for clients to use,” says Robert Linkul, owner of Training the Older Adult, a website for personal trainers. Apple, Garmin or Fitbit smartwatches can track nearly all your activity and give you reports on your fitness progress over time. Some models can detect changes in your gait or call for help if you fall. They also include heart rate monitors and can track your sleep. “I encourage clients to get a charging station to use when they’re working, sitting or watching television so they can charge their watch during the day and wear it when they sleep,” Linkul says.

If you don’t want a smartwatch ...
Get a dedicated heart rate monitor, like one from Polar, 4iiii or CooSpo. These devices, which sit on a soft band that you can wear around your waist or wrist, sync to a smartphone app. Or try MindMics, a set of wireless earbuds that can track your heart through the low-frequency sounds inside your ears.

What happens to the health data your smartwatch collects?
“The biggest widespread risk is that the data people think are private on these devices—heart rate, menstrual cycle information, location—gets used for something they don’t expect,” says Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. That might include targeted advertising or data leaks. Klosowski’s recommendations:
• Set up a strong, unique password for each device.
• Limit your smartwatch shopping to brands you’ve heard of.
• Check your privacy settings on the device’s corresponding app on your smartphone. “A general rule I have for myself is, if I don’t understand what a feature does that requires sharing more data than I might be comfortable with, I turn it off,” Klosowski says. “I can always turn it back on later if it’s something I’d like to use.”