Resting heart rate: what is normal, how to measure it and why it changes
This article is general information, not medical advice. It is not a substitute for a doctor, dietitian or other qualified professional who knows your circumstances. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or are changing your diet or exercise significantly, talk to one first.
For most adults a normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, and fit people often sit lower, sometimes well below 60. The number changes with fitness, age, sleep, stress, illness, caffeine and medicines, so the trend over weeks tells you more than one reading. This guide explains how to measure it properly and how it feeds into the heart rate zones calculator and other fitness estimates.
What is a normal resting heart rate?
The standard adult range quoted by heart charities is 60 to 100 bpm. Some researchers argue that 50 to 90 is a better description of healthy adults, and large studies of people over 40 have found averages in the low 70s. Women tend to have slightly higher resting rates than men, partly because their hearts are smaller on average and pump a little less blood per beat. During sleep, rates of 40 to 50 bpm are common and normal.
A rate below 60 at rest is called bradycardia and above 100 is tachycardia. Neither label means something is wrong on its own: a resting rate in the 50s or even 40s is typical of fit endurance athletes, while a temporarily raised rate is expected with fever or anxiety.
How to measure it
The most consistent time is first thing in the morning, after waking naturally and before getting up, drinking coffee or checking your phone. Then:
- Find your pulse on the thumb side of your wrist, or at the side of your neck, using two fingers rather than your thumb.
- Count the beats for a full 60 seconds, or for 30 seconds and double it.
- Repeat on several mornings and use the average.
Fitness watches and chest straps measure it automatically, often from overnight data, which is convenient but not always comparable with a manual count. Pick one method and stick with it. If the beats feel irregular while you count, note that too.
What raises and lowers it
Day-to-day resting heart rate moves for many ordinary reasons:
- Raises it: infections and fever, dehydration, poor sleep, stress and anxiety, alcohol the night before, caffeine, nicotine, hot weather, some asthma and decongestant medicines, an overactive thyroid and anaemia.
- Lowers it: regular aerobic exercise, good sleep, relaxation, and medicines such as beta blockers.
Because caffeine lingers for hours, a morning reading can be affected by an afternoon coffee the day before; the caffeine calculator shows how much is likely still in your system. A resting rate that is several beats higher than your usual for a few days is a common sign that you are fighting off an illness, under-recovered from hard training or short of sleep, and a good reason to take an easy day.
Fitness and resting heart rate
Aerobic training makes the heart pump more blood with each beat, so it needs fewer beats at rest. Over months of regular running, cycling or swimming many people see their resting rate fall by several beats, and elite endurance athletes can have resting rates in the 30s to 40s. Because of that link, some fitness estimates use it directly: the heart rate ratio method in the VO2 max calculator divides maximum by resting heart rate, explained in VO2 max explained: what the number means and how to improve it. A lower resting rate is generally associated with better health in large population studies, but genetics play a big part, and a naturally higher rate in an active person is not a problem in itself.
Using it for training zones
The Karvonen method sets training zones using your heart rate reserve, the gap between maximum and resting heart rate, so two people of the same age get different zones if their resting rates differ. In the zones calculator, a 40-year-old has an estimated maximum of 180 bpm with the Tanaka formula (208 minus 0.7 times age). With a resting rate of 60, the reserve is 120 beats, and zone 2 (60 to 70 percent of reserve) works out at about 132 to 144 bpm. Using plain percentages of maximum instead gives 108 to 126 bpm. The Karvonen version is usually closer to how the effort feels for fitter people. Maximum heart rate formulas can be off by 10 beats or more, so treat any zone as a starting point; Heart rate zones explained: how they're calculated and what each one trains covers the zones themselves.
When to see a doctor
Speak to a GP if your resting heart rate is consistently above 100, or below 60 with symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, tiredness or breathlessness, or if your pulse often feels irregular, fluttering or pounding. A watch alert about an irregular rhythm is also worth checking, as it can be a sign of atrial fibrillation. Get urgent medical help for chest pain, fainting, or a very fast heartbeat with breathlessness or dizziness. A calculator or watch can show a number, but it cannot diagnose the cause.
Sources and further reading
The claims in this guide rest on these references, which were checked when the guide was last updated. Spotted an error? The contact page says how to report it.