Important Health Data?

Hi friend,

Don’t fall for it! We almost did. We’re talking about T Magazine’s Gen X engagement bait.

“Is Gen X actually the greatest generation?” asks writer and Gen Xer Amanda Fortini, slyly, then proceeds to lay it on thick, offering up a potent mélange of nostalgia that includes Tupac, Kurt Cobain, and Biggie; O.J. Simpson’s white Bronco, Anita Hill’s testimony, and Nancy Kerrigan’s knee; My So-Called Life, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Daria; Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill and Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho; and Do the Right Thing, Slacker, and Reality Bites.

The hallmarks of Gen X, its “anticorporatism, anti-authoritarianism, ironic detachment, artistic independence, an existential horror of selling out and a live-and-let-live philosophy of life — feel like the antidote to a lot of what’s currently wrong in our culture,” argues Fortini.

Fortini’s lauding of Gen X’s once-monumental cultural impact reminded us of a recent Blackbird Spyplane treatise on becoming “washed,” which they define as no longer “having your finger on the pulse” of culture. Blackbird Spyplane’s shtick isn’t for everyone, but in this case it’s worth a look.

“The best way to Grow Washed Gracefully,” they advise, “is by proceeding from a position of Curiosity, Confidence, and Confusion, where each informs, undercuts, and counterbalances the other…Confidence is necessary to spot some chump s—t…Curiosity is plainly beautiful but has one massive pitfall, which is that you only have so much time on this Earth…And then, crucially, there’s confusion. Confusion can feel unpleasant, and it can feel embarrassing — but it’s also a function of discovery.”

So, when faced with new information (like this list of the 50 best songs of 2025, of which you only recognize a handful of artists) do you retreat to the comforting sounds of the past? Or do you, in BS parlance, sit in the confusion? (There’s a reason Spotify just told you your listening habits are that of a 70 or 80 year old, after all.)

Never content to be left out of the generational dialog, a group of the oldest millennials would like to get a few thousand words in edgewise. They are aware that they are aging, and they are gravely and grievously concerned. “Would it be healthier to accept our certain decay and mortality than rage against the dying of the light (or dewy glow), throwing as much time and money as possible into anti-aging measures?” asks Emily Gould, 44 and freaking out over it, in New York Magazine. “Consumer culture shouts at us constantly that we can always be doing more: We can hack our bodies, gathering data to improve almost everything about ourselves. But we’re also told that acceptance is the path toward peace and contentment.”

In the exact same boat, we say: Good luck with that! Speaking of gathering data, this week’s feature is about what health data is actually useful to gather. Read on for that, plus a few recommendations for your weekend.

Bye,
Your friends at Gloria

The frenzy started a little over a decade ago. It was 2012, and I was working as a technology product reviewer. Brand after brand would email to tell me about their health and fitness products. Would I like to test and write about a new pedometer that connects to a smart phone? How about a smart bathroom scale? Or socks that track your runs? Or a smart sports bra?

The promise was that these gadgets would radically improve health care. By collecting data on factors such as physical activity, sleep, heart rate, body temperature, weight, food intake, and one day maybe even the pollutants in our environment, doctors would be armed with a wealth of information via synced health portals, and we'd have truly personalized medical assessments.

For almost 10 years, I tested and wrote about all these devices and services. I imagined a hopeful future, but my hands-on experiences left me disappointed, skeptical, and increasingly worried about people's safety and privacy. For example, I sent in a sample of my poop for analysis and was told that my microbiome indicated I might be gluten-intolerant, even though I'm clearly not. The results were wrong, and the company now had my data to use to try and improve its service. Another time, a company analyzed my blood in an effort to "optimize" my health through dietary recommendations, although a nutritionist I met with for a second opinion convinced me that some of the information could be harmful. If the amount of calcium in my blood was too high, she said, I needed medical testing, not less dairy in my diet.

While I don't think the world will benefit from workout pants with butt sensors, I have learned which devices and data are truly useful for me as I age. After years of weighing their value, here are the things I still use and find genuinely helpful.

A 24/7 Heart Rate Monitor

Most smart watches and fitness trackers include a 24/7 heart rate (HR) monitor. Those little flashing lights on the back track your resting heart rate as well as your heart rate during exercise – two data points I'm interested in monitoring, especially as I age. I wear a Garmin Venu Sq, which is no longer sold, but really any device with a HR monitor will do.

At any medical exam, a nurse or med tech will take your HR, and it's good to pay attention to it. However, you can learn more about yourself by monitoring your HR more frequently. For example, I've learned that my resting HR increases by a lot when I get sick, going from around 55bpm to more than 80. Now I know to slow down, stay home, and pay attention to my body any time my resting HR rises above 65bpm.

I also use HR data during exercise. According to Harvard Medical School, weight-bearing aerobic activity helps prevent bone loss in women over 40 the same as weight lifting, and going faster is more beneficial. I do a bare-minimum 25-minute interval training workout with weights three to four times a week; to make sure it counts, I glance at my HR until I push it above 140bpm whenever I jump rope, hit the mat for burpees, or do anything else aerobic. Without a number to target, I'd have a much harder time motivating myself to work out sufficiently.

Blood Pressure Cuff

At-home blood pressure cuffs have become surprisingly affordable, accurate, and simple to use. Most are battery operated and come with clear instructions. You don't need one with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity. Just get one that's FDA-approved (the one I use is from Omron). Take a reading and type the numbers you see into whatever health app you use. Apple Health, Garmin Connect, and others have a place for blood pressure and use color-coding to tell you if your reading is in the healthy range. You can even jot down your blood pressure readings in a notebook or a spreadsheet and look them up on a blood pressure chart. Information doesn't have to be high-tech for it to matter. 

Having a history of your blood pressure readings is helpful if you go to a doctor's appointment and get an unexpectedly high or low number. You know your baseline, and in a case like that, you could share your prior readings with your doctor and discuss which device you use and how you use it. A good doctor will rule out the possibility of a faulty device or user error before anything else. Your doctor can also advise you about what your blood pressure numbers should be and how to get them there.

Pulse Oximeter

A pulse oximeter measures the oxygen saturation level of your blood and usually gives a HR reading as well. It's a little battery-operated device that you clip onto your finger. As I've aged, I've come to believe that having one is a vital part of any first-aid kit, right alongside a thermometer, especially if anyone in your home is susceptible to or has a harder time recovering from respiratory illnesses.

While I don't use a pulse oximeter daily, I do leave it on my bedside table when I or someone in my house is sick. Seeing your oxygen saturation number dip can be an early indicator that it's time to see a doctor.

Like a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeters don't have to be fancy or connected, though you should get one that's FDA-approved. You can buy a decent one at most pharmacies for less than $25.

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TO WATCH George Clooney’s meta film about fame, Jay Kelly (which also stars Adam Sandler and Laura Dern) is now available to watch on Netflix. Clooney playing a megawatt movie star is obviously appealing, but per the reviews, it’s actually Sandler who steals the show as his loyal manager.

TO TRY Walking is good, but have you tried Tai Chi Walking? Rooted in a centuries-old practice, it blends movement, breath, and mindfulness into slow, purposeful steps. The results include better strength, posture, balance, and brain function. For more on this gentle 30-minute routine, take this quick quiz. You'll get a personalized Walking Plan, plus access to weight loss coaching, additional workouts, and nutrition advice. Try it here. #partner

TO LISTEN The bossa nova rhythms of Nicola Conte’s (the “founding father of Italian acid jazz”) new album, Viaggio, are a good counterweight to the saccharine pop and holiday music our kids have been forcing us to listen to. Transport yourself to another climate, another decade even!

TO MAKE This versatile, stewy chicken is so good and so easy. We started it on a cold work-from-home afternoon (it took minimal prep), and by dinner had a warm, comforting crockpot dinner to serve over rice. 

TO RENT This clothing rental company has been saving us during the nonstop holiday stretch. Instead of buying something new for every event, we’ve been rotating in beautiful pieces each month, making getting dressed feel easier, fresher, and a whole lot less wasteful. Use code GLORIA for up to 64 percent off your first month, plus two bonus items, and yes, the unlimited plan is $89 right now. #partner

TO LISTEN Dolly Parton’s America, the WNYC podcast, isn’t new, but we found and started listening to it this week — and what a wonderful tribute to a icon and music legend. The host is inquisitive and probing, but careful; and Dolly is, of course, lovely.

Something interesting is happening in the cutlery space. • Anxiety over kid gifting etiquette, and kid gifts in general. • Keri Russell’s on-screen hair has always been a subject of discussion, and her look on The Diplomat is no exception. • Fond recollections of NYC dining in the ‘70s. • “YouTube creators find a new consumer for AI slop: babies.”

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