What is a good resting heart rate?

The resting heart rate for most adults should be between 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). Falling outside this zone is not always a cause for concern. But someone may want to talk to their health care provider if their numbers are above or below the normal range.

Several factors affect heart rate, including age, medications and even someone’s emotional state.

Here are a few things to know about heart rate numbers and what steps to take to support a healthier resting heart rate. 

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What is resting heart rate?

Heart rate is just what it sounds like: the pace at which a heart beats. Health care providers use this measurement as a vital sign, which can help point to serious health concerns, including anxiety, heart problems or thyroid issues.

Someone’s resting heart rate is clinically significant because it serves as an indicator of their cardiorespiratory fitness. Plus, resting heart rate is an independent predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, even in people without overt cardiovascular disease.

Heart rate can fluctuate throughout the day in response to things like exercise and drinking coffee, so it’s a good idea to check it before the day starts. Resting heart rate is measured when a person is relaxed, such as before they get out of bed in the morning after a restful night’s sleep.

How to measure a resting heart rate

There are a couple of ways to measure resting heart rate. Anyone can do it manually by using their fingers and counting the pulse on their elbow, neck or wrist. They can also use a digital heart rate monitor.

If someone wants to take their own heart rate manually, they can try placing their pointer and middle fingers on the underside of their wrist, just below the base of their thumb. Once they feel a pulse, they can start a timer for 15 seconds and count how many times they feel a beat until the timer stops. They can multiply this number by four to get the beats per minute.

If someone is having trouble, they can try locating their pulse in two other easy locations. The first is on the throat, below the jawbone, just on the side of their windpipe. The second is on the inside of their elbow, slightly off-center. Once a pulse is located, they can follow the same steps listed above.

Checking manually is convenient, but it is not always the most accurate option. Instead, people may want to try a digital heart rate monitor that attaches to the tip of their finger or wraps around their chest, finger or wrist.

Can a resting heart rate be changed?

Experts consider 60 to 100 bpm to be within the normal range. If a resting heart rate is too high or too low, a health care provider can help pinpoint the cause. That might mean adjusting medications or screening for underlying medical conditions. A health care provider may also recommend upping exercise levels or making other lifestyle changes to help improve these numbers.

A health care provider can help determine what’s safe for an exercise program. For most adults, it will involve gradually working up to the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Tracking heart rate can help people and their health care providers see how their body responds to exercise.