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Our hearts beat faster when we exercise, which is why heart rate training can be so useful. But when we arenāt doing anything, our heart rate can still be useful to know. If you have a wearable that measures your resting heart rate (RHR), hereās how to understand what itās telling you.
Medical professionals usually consider anything between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm) to be a ānormalā resting heart rate. But they are usually measuring resting heart rate in people who are in a healthcare setting, sitting quietly. Notably, they are awake, and some may be a bit nervous about being in a doctorās office.
Your smartwatch or other wearable device may be able to capture lower numbers, especially if you wear it while youāre sleeping. Oura, maker of smart rings, reports that its members tend to have a resting heart rate between 50 and 60 bpm. Whoop says that its users average 59 bpm for women, 55 for men.
Users of Oura, Whoop, and similar devices probably have lower than average heart rates, because these platforms are popular among athletes and the health-conscious. The more typical 60 to 100 figure is meant to apply to the entire population a healthcare professional might encounter. So itās OK if youāre not hitting those lower numbers.
Athletes and people in good cardiovascular health tend to have lower resting heart rates. People who improve their cardio fitness tend to see their resting heart rate decrease over time, and thatās often considered a good sign that what youāre doing is working.
In the short term, a heart rate a few beats higher than your usual may mean:
I find resting heart rate (along with HRV, which is different) to be a useful number to track for understanding how stressed or recovered my body is. If it goes up, thatās fine, so long as it comes back down within a few days. A resting heart rate that stays elevated for weeks may indicate illness or other issues that may call for medical attention.
As tempting as it is to want a āgoodā resting heart rate, itās not useful to treat RHR as a competition. People are built differently, and just as your friend might be taller or shorter than you, they may have a naturally higher or lower heart rate, even before you take fitness or health factors into account.
In general, smaller people tend to have slightly higher resting heart rates, which is why the average RHR for women is a few beats higher than the average manās. Resting heart rates can also change with age, increasing slightly in early adulthood and then leveling off. (Note that your resting heart rate doesnāt necessarily say anything about your maximum heart rate or exercise heart rate, which I discuss in more detail here.)
If youāre using a watch or wearable to tell you your resting heart rate, thereās also a difference from device to device. When I wore five different devices to track my RHR and HRV for several nights in a row, the Fitbit gave a resting heart rate number that was often 10 beats higher than the reading from Oura. The other devicesāa Garmin, a Whoop, and an Apple Watchāwere in between.
Ultimately, the best way to use your RHR data is to keep an eye on long- and short-term trends. If your RHR is lowering gradually over time as you exercise a little more, thatās a good sign. And when it varies from day to day, you can use those changes as a nudge to check in on your health, stress, fatigue, and sleep. And of course, if youāre ever concerned about your heart rate being unusually high or low, check with a medical professional.
Full story here:
What is a normal resting heart rate?
Medical professionals usually consider anything between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm) to be a ānormalā resting heart rate. But they are usually measuring resting heart rate in people who are in a healthcare setting, sitting quietly. Notably, they are awake, and some may be a bit nervous about being in a doctorās office.
Your smartwatch or other wearable device may be able to capture lower numbers, especially if you wear it while youāre sleeping. Oura, maker of smart rings, reports that its members tend to have a resting heart rate between 50 and 60 bpm. Whoop says that its users average 59 bpm for women, 55 for men.
Users of Oura, Whoop, and similar devices probably have lower than average heart rates, because these platforms are popular among athletes and the health-conscious. The more typical 60 to 100 figure is meant to apply to the entire population a healthcare professional might encounter. So itās OK if youāre not hitting those lower numbers.
A lower resting heart rate is usually better
Athletes and people in good cardiovascular health tend to have lower resting heart rates. People who improve their cardio fitness tend to see their resting heart rate decrease over time, and thatās often considered a good sign that what youāre doing is working.
In the short term, a heart rate a few beats higher than your usual may mean:
You are stressed, either mentally or physically (for example, fatigued from hard workouts)
Youāre in your follicular phase, if youāre a person with a menstrual cycle
Youāre getting sick
Youāre taking medication that affects your resting heart rate (including some stimulants and decongestants)
Something disrupted your sleep, if your RHR is measured during sleepāfor example, drinking and staying up late can both result in a higher RHR reading.
I find resting heart rate (along with HRV, which is different) to be a useful number to track for understanding how stressed or recovered my body is. If it goes up, thatās fine, so long as it comes back down within a few days. A resting heart rate that stays elevated for weeks may indicate illness or other issues that may call for medical attention.
Why you shouldnāt compare your resting heart rate to othersā
As tempting as it is to want a āgoodā resting heart rate, itās not useful to treat RHR as a competition. People are built differently, and just as your friend might be taller or shorter than you, they may have a naturally higher or lower heart rate, even before you take fitness or health factors into account.
In general, smaller people tend to have slightly higher resting heart rates, which is why the average RHR for women is a few beats higher than the average manās. Resting heart rates can also change with age, increasing slightly in early adulthood and then leveling off. (Note that your resting heart rate doesnāt necessarily say anything about your maximum heart rate or exercise heart rate, which I discuss in more detail here.)
If youāre using a watch or wearable to tell you your resting heart rate, thereās also a difference from device to device. When I wore five different devices to track my RHR and HRV for several nights in a row, the Fitbit gave a resting heart rate number that was often 10 beats higher than the reading from Oura. The other devicesāa Garmin, a Whoop, and an Apple Watchāwere in between.
Ultimately, the best way to use your RHR data is to keep an eye on long- and short-term trends. If your RHR is lowering gradually over time as you exercise a little more, thatās a good sign. And when it varies from day to day, you can use those changes as a nudge to check in on your health, stress, fatigue, and sleep. And of course, if youāre ever concerned about your heart rate being unusually high or low, check with a medical professional.
Full story here:
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