Today’s trackers go leaps beyond monitoring heart rate and step count. We asked tracker expert Jill Duffy, tech writer for PCmag.com, to sift out the top game-changing gadgets that will transform your health now—and in the (very near) future. 12 THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH TRACKERS NOW…

  1. Train to stay calm Photo courtesy of Muse Do your thoughts move faster than Usain Bolt cranked on espresso? Try Muse. The headband uses EEG technology to measure your brain’s activity, and the companion app teaches you to quickly go from stressed to centered with mini mindfulness exercises. In the future, a similar device may work with a connected home to automatically dim and change the color of the lighting to help you calm down if it senses you’re stressed. How cool is that? ($299, choosemuse.com)
  2. Monitor your heart rate with your hat Photo courtesy of LifeBeam Chest straps are so yesterday. LifeBeam has put heart-rate sensors into accessories you already wear, like a bicycling helmet ($229) and hat and visor ($99 each), so you can monitor your effort and calorie burn in comfort. (life-beam.com)
  3. Automatically track every move Photo courtesy of Basis With Basis Peak, you slip on the “watch” and forget about it while sensors track heart rate, motion, skin temp, and sleep phases—every detail about your waking and resting life. All without ever having to pushing a single button (which means no more missed sleep stats or run times). ($200, mybasis.com)
  4. Wear your personal trainer Photo courtesy of Athos Athos apparel is embedded with sensors that track your heart, lungs, and muscles so it can give useful info—like whether you could be working harder or if you’re favoring one side of your body. ($199 for Athos Core; $99 each for shirt and shorts, liveathos.com)
  5. Never forget your medication—or anything else, for that matter Photo courtesy of Sen.se Mother—a mod-matryoshka “hub” that connects to the Internet—uses colorful sensors called “cookies” to detect and analyze the movement of things (say, your pill bottles or front door) to which you affix them. If they don’t move on schedule or if the cookies detect unusual activity, Mother sends a reminder (ahem, nags) to your smartphone (you forgot to take your medication; drink more water; your front door has opened). If all that monitoring creeps you out, wait until you see her eyes light up when you plug her in! ($299, sensemother.com)
  6. Shed belly fat faster Photo courtesy of Mio If drilling through a weight loss plateau is your goal, MioFuse makes training in the right intensity zone easier than ever. Instead of having to squint at numbers, the futuristic display flashes different colored lights depending on your current heart rate—which means a quick glance at your wrist is all you need to know if you should push harder or take it down a notch. ($179, mioglobal.com)
  7. Lower your blood pressure (and look cool doing it) Photo courtesy of Qardio Compact, wireless, and more Apple-mod than stuffy medical device, QardioArm ($99, getqardio.com) makes it easy to track your stats over time. Just slip on the cuff and your reading will pop up on your smartphone or tablet, instantly letting you know if you’re on track or headed for trouble. MORE: We Hired A Writer To Find Out How She’s Going To Die. And She Feels Pretty Good About It.
  8. Stop stress before it starts Photo courtesy of Spire Stress is a major health zapper, and in the future you’ll know if your body is freaking out before your brain does. Spire ($149, spire.io), will detect patterns in your breathing and alert you when you need to take a few deep breaths to nip tension and stress in the bud.
  9. Minimize running injuries Photo courtesy of Sensoria Fitness Embedded textile sensors in Sensoria Fitness Socks tell you how different parts of your feet are absorbing shock during your run or walk, and let you know, in real time, if you need to correct your form. A connected ankle cuff tracks other data, like speed and pace. ($199 for anklet, app, and 1 pair of socks, sensoriafitness.com)
  10. Outsmart insomnia Photo courtesy of Withings The Withings Aura ($300, withings.com) puts that annoying smartphone alarm to shame. It tracks your sleep patterns with a movement sensor that slips under your mattress and a bedside device uses soothing sounds and colored light to help you nod off faster and wake you up at the right point in your sleep cycle (so you feel refreshed, not foggy, when you roll out of bed).
  11. Monitor your microbes Photo courtesy of μBiome Research continues to show that the health of our gut bacteria is intimately connected to everything from our weight to our mood. Get to know yours better with μBiome (starting at $89, ubiome.com). Send in a sample of your poop (gross, we know), and μBiome will analyze it and upload your results into a Web dashboard that allows you to compare your stats with the anonymized data of others’ whose diets are like and unlike you (vegetarians, say). With a subscription, you can send in more samples and track how your biome changes over time.
  12. Make hospital stays more comfortable Photo courtesy of Health Patch MD While not available to consumers, HealthPatch MD is changing the way that doctors keep tabs on patients in and out of the hospital. Instead of being wired to a machine, this battery-powered patch tracks ECG, respiratory rate, heart rate, steps taken, stress levels, and can even tell if a patient has fallen. If something goes wrong, your medical team will be alerted via the power of bluetooth technology.    8 THINGS YOU’LL BE ABLE TO DO WITH TRACKERS IN THE FUTURE…
  13. Get an at-home checkup Spock-styleA real-life version of Star Trek’s tricorder is currently waiting on FDA clearance: The Scanadu Scout will be able to tell you your heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and ECG with nothing more than a quick scan of your forehead and finger (expected price: $199).
  14. Track blood sugar with a contact lensAs soon as 5 years from now, today’s glucose meters may go the way of the tape deck. Google labs are creating a contact lens that will monitor blood sugar through tears, quietly alerting the user (via smartphone or, eventually, with an LED light flashing discreetly in her field of vision) when she needs to adjust her levels.
  15. Realize you’re at risk of skin cancer as it happensImagine knowing the instant you need to reapply sunblock or find some shade. The innovative new bracelet/ray tracker SunFriend will connect to your smartphone and measure your real-time UV index and alert you when you’ve had enough exposure for one day ($89, expected to launch next summer).
  16. Spy on your metabolism so you can wake it from slumberSkulpt Aim is the closest we’ve come, outside of a lab setting, to peering inside muscle. The handheld device lets you know in seconds how fit each of your individual muscle groups is. It also lets you track change over time via a mobile app, so you’ll know if your resistance program is working long before you see results ($199, set to debut early 2015). MORE: 2 Ways Your Own Blood Could Be The Pain Cure You’ve Been Waiting For
  17. Monitor more on the slyWhat’s revolutionary about the Apple Watch, other than it being a fitness tracker, smartphone, and mobile payment device? Rather than hearing or seeing that you received a text or a reminder that you’ve been sitting for too long, you’ll feel a polite, less obtrusive “tap” on the wrist (starting at $349, anticipated early 2015).
  18. Take the stress out of (grand) parentingWhile baby naps like an angel, first-time parents often freak out and wonder if their kid is still alive. They go in, check, and naptime is officially over. A new baby-tracker solves that problem and others. Sproutling, an ankle band for infants, collects a comprehensive amount of data—heart rate, skin temperature, motion, and body position—so parents can glance at their phones and know that Junior’s heart is still beating ($249, expected March 2015).
  19. Speak…without speakingMotorola Mobility is working on a temporary electronic skin tattoo for the throat that will be able to hear a person whispering and translate it to speech for a second person to hear. The super high-tech e-tattoo (early photos of a prototype look more like a very thin sticker) might even be able to understand words someone is thinking by reading auditory signals from the brain, even if he or she doesn’t speak.
  20. Uncover hidden health concerns in seconds “Pee and go” might be the new motto for keeping yourself well. From the same maker of the “tricorder” Scanadu Scout comes ScanaFlo, an at-home urine test kit that measures glucose, protein, leukocytes, nitrates, blood, bilirubin, urobilinogen, specific gravity, and urine pH, while a smartphone app guides you through the process and stores and explains your test scores. The test could flag early warning signs of problems with the liver, kidneys, urinary tract, and metabolism.  MORE: How A 3-D Printer And A Keen Eye For Design Are Changing The Lives Of Amputees