Resting heart rate is the number of times the heart beats when the body is at rest. The best time to measure it is before getting out of bed in the morning. The average resting heart rate for adults is between 60-80 bpm, and it’s important to calculate it to determine target heart rate during exercise or if there are suspected heart problems.
Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats when your body is completely at rest, and the best time to take this measurement is before you get out of bed in the morning. Even getting up to take a short trip to the bathroom can raise your heart rate levels slightly and cause them to not be truly “restful”. Therefore, a little planning may be required to accurately calculate your resting heart rate. For example, having a small wristwatch or timer by the bed so a person can check the fare in the morning is a good idea.
Usually the easiest way to get this measurement is to measure the pulse at the wrist, about center above what is called the radial artery, or on either side of the neck at the carotid artery. The carotid artery may be easier to take for the pulse, and the person should use the index and middle fingers only to feel the pulse of the artery. Don’t use your thumb, as it has a weak pulse and can mess up the count.
For accurate heart rate, people count their pulse beats for one minute, but most people will get a pretty good measure of resting heart rate by counting their pulse for fifteen seconds and multiplying that number by four. Note that the rate may have slight deviations each day, but should remain within certain levels.
The average resting heart rate for adult men is about 70 beats per minute (bpm). In women, the average is slightly above 75 bpm. The standard deviation suggests that in most adults, anything between 60-80 bpm is considered normal while resting, and some people who are athletes have an even lower rate while resting because their hearts beat more efficiently. If the rate falls outside of this average, it may not be a problem, but it’s a good idea to talk to a doctor about it. Infants and older children have much higher rates than adults. A newborn’s heart can beat 120 times a minute, and older children can have rates that still exceed 100 bpm.
One of the main reasons people need to calculate their resting heart rate is because it’s part of the calculations that can determine your target heart rate during cardiovascular or aerobic exercise. Of course, it’s not always necessary to follow a formula, and if people haven’t exercised regularly or have heart problems, they should talk to doctors about safe target rates first. For the average healthy person, the target rate is about 50-85% of the maximum rate, and the maximum rate can be determined quickly by subtracting age from the number 220, so the resting rate may never be needed.
In most cases people don’t really need to measure their resting heart rate, although this can be done in doctor’s offices. It is also part of the “vital” examinations in hospitals. However, if a person suspects heart problems, calculating a few days of rest rate, as it is best done before a person gets out of bed, will provide good information for a doctor. Some people with known heart or blood pressure disorders may also be asked by their doctors to monitor this frequency from time to time.
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