Normal Adult Heart Rate: At Rest, Asleep and in Exercise

The normal resting heart rate for adults is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Where you sit in that range — and how your pulse behaves during sleep and exercise — depends on fitness, age, medication and the moment you measure.

Normal adult heart rate at a glance

Does age change the normal resting rate?

Not much. The 60–100 bpm resting range applies from about age 10 through old age. What clearly changes with age is the maximum heart rate: it falls by roughly one beat per year, so the same workout raises a 60-year-old's heart closer to its limit than a 25-year-old's. Older adults also more often take medication that lowers the pulse, such as beta blockers.

Why fit people have lower heart rates

Endurance training enlarges and strengthens the heart's main pumping chamber and increases the influence of the calming (parasympathetic) nervous system. Each beat moves more blood, so fewer beats are needed. A resting pulse in the 50s — or 40s in serious runners, cyclists and rowers — is a normal adaptation, not a disease, as long as you feel well.

When a "normal" number still deserves attention

Studies following large groups of people over many years have found that a resting heart rate persistently in the upper part of the normal range (roughly above 80 bpm) is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, independent of other factors. That does not make 85 bpm abnormal — but it is a reason to look at exercise, sleep, weight, alcohol and stress.

Things that skew a reading

• Caffeine, nicotine, energy drinks and alcohol (alcohol also the morning after)
• Having just stood up, climbed stairs or eaten a large meal
• Stress, anxiety or pain — including anxiety about the measurement itself
• Heat, humidity, fever and dehydration
• Medication: beta blockers and some calcium channel blockers lower the rate; decongestants, asthma inhalers and thyroid hormone raise it

How to measure it properly

Sit quietly for five minutes, then count your wrist pulse for 30 seconds and double it. The best time is first thing in the morning before getting up. Repeat on several days and use the average. Our tap tool can do the counting for you.

Too slow, too fast: when to see a doctor

• Below 60 bpm (bradycardia) without athletic training, especially with dizziness, fainting, fatigue or breathlessness. Common causes include medication, an underactive thyroid and problems with the heart's electrical system.
• Above 100 bpm at rest (tachycardia) on repeated measurements. Causes range from fever, dehydration and anemia to an overactive thyroid and heart rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation.
• An irregular pulse at any rate.

Call 911 (US) or your local emergency number for chest pain, fainting, severe breathlessness or confusion with a fast or slow heartbeat. To interpret a specific number, try 55, 80 or 110 bpm, or use the checker below.