Typical Resting Heart Rate Ranges
The ranges below are commonly cited by paediatric and cardiology references. They describe healthy people at rest, and individual values vary.
- ◈Newborns (0 to 1 month): about 100 to 160 bpm
- ◈Infants (1 to 11 months): about 90 to 160 bpm
- ◈Toddlers (1 to 2 years): about 90 to 150 bpm
- ◈Pre-school children (3 to 5 years): about 80 to 140 bpm
- ◈School-age children (6 to 12 years): about 70 to 120 bpm
- ◈Teenagers (13 to 17 years): about 60 to 100 bpm
- ◈Adults (18 and over): about 60 to 100 bpm
- ◈Well-trained endurance athletes: often 40 to 60 bpm
Children's hearts beat faster mainly because they are smaller and their bodies have higher metabolic demands relative to their size. As the heart grows and becomes more efficient, the resting rate gradually slows until it reaches adult levels during adolescence.
Does Heart Rate Change in Older Adults?
The resting rate in healthy older adults generally stays in the adult range of 60 to 100 bpm. What does change with age is maximum heart rate, the fastest your heart can beat during all-out effort. A common rough formula is 220 minus age, so a 30-year-old's estimated maximum is about 190 bpm, and a 70-year-old's is about 150 bpm. More recent research has suggested alternative formulas, such as 208 minus 0.7 × age, but all of them are estimates with wide individual variation.
How to Measure Your Resting Heart Rate
The best time to measure is in the morning, after waking and before getting out of bed or drinking coffee.
- ◈Find your pulse on the thumb side of your inner wrist (radial artery) or at the side of your neck (carotid artery)
- ◈Press gently with your index and middle fingers, not your thumb, which has its own pulse
- ◈Count the beats for a full 60 seconds, or for 30 seconds and multiply by two
- ◈Repeat on a few different mornings and take the average
Smartwatches and fitness trackers also measure resting heart rate, usually overnight. They are generally reasonably accurate at rest, though less so during vigorous movement.
What Affects Your Resting Heart Rate?
Many everyday factors can move your resting heart rate up or down:
- ◈Fitness: regular aerobic training tends to lower it
- ◈Stress and emotion: anxiety and excitement raise it
- ◈Caffeine and nicotine: both are stimulants that can increase it
- ◈Temperature: heat and humidity raise it, as the body works to cool itself
- ◈Hydration: dehydration tends to raise it
- ◈Illness and fever: a fever typically raises heart rate
- ◈Body position: it is usually slightly higher standing than lying down
- ◈Medications: some drugs, such as beta-blockers, lower heart rate, while others raise it
- ◈Alcohol and poor sleep: both are commonly associated with a higher resting rate the next day
Because of these influences, a single reading is less informative than a trend over days and weeks.
Why Resting Heart Rate Matters
Resting heart rate reflects how hard your heart needs to work to supply the body at rest. A more efficient heart pumps more blood per beat, so it can beat less often. Large observational studies have linked higher resting heart rate to greater cardiovascular risk, independent of other factors. A 2016 meta-analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that all-cause mortality risk rose steadily with higher resting rates.
These are population-level associations, not personal predictions. Plenty of healthy people have resting rates in the 80s, and a low rate is not automatically a sign of good health.
When a Number Is Worth Checking
Contact a healthcare professional if you notice:
- ◈A resting heart rate consistently above 100 bpm (tachycardia) without an obvious reason such as fever or anxiety
- ◈A resting rate consistently below 60 bpm (bradycardia) if you are not an athlete, especially with tiredness, dizziness or fainting
- ◈An irregular rhythm, fluttering or pounding sensations
- ◈Any heart rate change combined with chest pain, shortness of breath or fainting, which requires urgent medical attention
Lowering Your Resting Heart Rate Over Time
For most adults, the most effective long-term approach is regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming or running, building towards the widely recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. Good sleep, staying hydrated, limiting alcohol, not smoking and practising relaxation techniques can also help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a heart rate of 55 normal? For many active adults, yes. If you feel well and are not experiencing dizziness or fatigue, a rate in the 50s is often a sign of good fitness.
Why is my heart rate higher in the evening? Heart rate follows a daily rhythm, and activity, meals and caffeine during the day can all keep it slightly elevated.
How is resting heart rate different from heart rate variability? Resting heart rate is the average number of beats per minute; heart rate variability measures the small variations in time between individual beats.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. If you have concerns about your heart, speak to a qualified healthcare professional.
Sources
- ◈American Heart Association, "All About Heart Rate (Pulse)"
- ◈Cleveland Clinic, "Pulse and Heart Rate: Normal Ranges by Age"
- ◈Fleming S. et al., "Normal ranges of heart rate and respiratory rate in children from birth to 18 years of age", The Lancet, 2011
- ◈Tanaka H. et al., "Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited", Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2001
- ◈Zhang D. et al., "Resting heart rate and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population: a meta-analysis", CMAJ, 2016