How Much Health Data Is Too Much?

From sleep trackers to self-pay bloodwork and full-body MRIs, health tracking has exploded in popularity. These tools promise to potentially catch diseases earlier, so that you can live a happier and healthier life. But can they deliver?
 

This week, we’re turning the tables to interview Wirecutter Show co-host Christine Cyr Clisset about her six-month experiment tracking her health 24/7. She spent six months testing an array of Wirecutter-recommended wearables, as well as direct-to-consumer tests to see what, if anything, could help improve her health.

We discuss the surprising insights she gained, as well as the significant perils of health tracking, from privacy risks to data-induced anxiety.

This episode covers: 

• What health and fitness trackers do best. Devices like the Oura Ring and Apple Watch can act as "accountability buddies" to help people change their daily habits. 
• The pros and cons of self-pay tests. Many doctors don’t recommend self-pay bloodwork or full-body scans (like MRIs), because they can lead to overdiagnosis and health anxiety. Yet Christine found external bloodwork helpful (to an extent), as well as a DEXA scan, which helped flag her thinning bone mineral density.. 
• How AI can help. Christine found that feeding her various health reports into chatbots helped her come up with better questions for her doctors.
• The risks of tracking. Tracking can cause data-induced anxiety. Plus, many wearables, apps, and AI tools fall outside HIPAA protection, which means your data may be used in ways you don’t want. 

Products we recommend: 

• A stylish wearable with tons of data: Oura Ring 4
• The best smartwatch for iPhone owners: Apple Watch SE (3rd generation)

Additional reading:

• The Promise and Peril of Tracking My Health 24/7
• The Best Sleep Trackers: Rings, Watches, and Other Wearables 
• The 4 Best Fitness Trackers of 2026
• Can You Really Disappear Online?

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The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel. Studio support from Maddy Masiello, Nick Pitman, Kyle Grandillo, and Samantha Winter. Episodes are mixed by Catherine Anderson, Daniel Ramirez, and Sophia Lanman. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief. Hosted by Rosie Guerin, Caira Blackwell and Christine Cyr Clisset.

Find edited transcripts for each episode here: The Wirecutter Show Podcast