You measure your pulse by pressing two fingers against an artery close to the skin’s surface and counting the beats you feel over a set period of time. The wrist is the easiest and most common spot, but you can also check your pulse at the neck, inside the elbow, or on top of the foot. A normal resting heart rate for adults falls between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
The Wrist Method (Radial Pulse)
The inside of your wrist, just below the base of your thumb, is the go-to location for checking your own pulse. Here’s how to do it:
- Turn one hand palm-up.
- Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the inner wrist, in the groove just below the thumb side of the wrist crease.
- Press gently until you feel a steady throb. You’re pressing the artery against the small bone underneath. Too much pressure will actually block blood flow and make the pulse disappear, so use a light touch.
- Count the number of beats you feel.
Always use your fingertips, not your thumb. Your thumb has its own pulse, which can confuse the count.
How Long to Count
A full 60-second count gives you the most accurate reading, especially when your heart rate is below 140 beats per minute. Many guides suggest counting for 15 seconds and multiplying by four, but research on pulse measurement shows the 15-second method produces the largest measurement errors. If you’re in a hurry, a 30-second count (multiplied by two) is a reasonable middle ground. For anyone with an irregular rhythm, where beats come at uneven intervals, a full 60 seconds is worth the extra time because short counts can miss the variation.
Other Places You Can Check a Pulse
Your wrist isn’t the only option. Any artery that runs close to the skin and over a bone can be used.
Neck (carotid artery): Place two fingers on the side of your neck, in the soft groove between your windpipe and the large muscle that runs from behind your ear to your collarbone. This pulse is strong and easy to find, which makes it useful during exercise or in an emergency when you need a quick check. However, there are important safety rules: never press on both sides of your neck at the same time, and keep your pressure light. The carotid sinus, a pressure-sensitive area near the jaw, can trigger a drop in heart rate, a fall in blood pressure, dizziness, or even fainting when compressed. People with known plaque buildup in their neck arteries should avoid this site entirely.
Inside of the elbow (brachial artery): Press gently on the inner side of the elbow crease, where blood is typically drawn. This is the spot used when taking blood pressure with a stethoscope and cuff.
Top of the foot (dorsalis pedis): Feel along the top of your foot in the groove between the tendons of your first and second toes. This pulse is checked less often at home but is useful in clinical settings to assess circulation in the legs.
Temple (temporal artery): Press lightly on the temple, just in front of the ear. This site works well for infants and young children.
Behind the knee, inner ankle, and groin: These pulses exist but are harder to find on yourself. Healthcare providers use them to evaluate blood flow to specific limbs.
Using a Stethoscope (Apical Pulse)
Unlike every other method, the apical pulse listens to the heart directly rather than feeling an artery. A stethoscope is placed on the left side of the chest, roughly in line with the nipple, in the space between the fifth and sixth ribs. Each heartbeat produces two sounds (often described as “lub-dub”), and you count each lub-dub pair as one beat. This method is the gold standard when an irregular rhythm is suspected, because it picks up every heartbeat, including weak ones that might not produce a pulse strong enough to feel at the wrist.
Using a Smartwatch or Fitness Tracker
Most wearable devices measure your pulse using small LED lights that shine into the skin and detect changes in blood flow. This optical sensor technology has become remarkably accurate. A 2025 meta-analysis of 26 studies published in JACC: Advances found that smartwatches achieved 95% sensitivity and 97% specificity for detecting atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heart rhythm. Some devices performed even better individually, with sensitivity reaching 97%.
Wearables are best at tracking trends over time: your resting rate when you wake up, how high your heart rate climbs during a workout, and how quickly it recovers. They can be less reliable during vigorous movement, when the watch shifts on your wrist, or if you have a tattoo under the sensor. For a single, precise reading, a manual check is still hard to beat.
What Affects Your Reading
Your resting heart rate is meant to reflect your heart’s baseline workload, so the conditions under which you measure it matter. The best time to check is first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed, while you’re calm and still. Several factors can push the number higher or lower:
- Caffeine and nicotine both raise heart rate temporarily.
- Emotions like stress, anxiety, or excitement trigger a faster pulse.
- Body position makes a difference. Standing produces a slightly higher rate than sitting or lying down.
- Medications such as beta-blockers lower heart rate, while decongestants and some asthma drugs raise it.
- Fitness level is a major variable. Well-trained athletes often have resting rates in the 40s or 50s because their hearts pump more blood per beat.
- Sleep quality, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions can all shift resting heart rate over time.
If you’re tracking your pulse to spot trends, try to measure under the same conditions each time: same position, same time of day, and at least a few minutes of rest beforehand.
Normal Resting Heart Rate by Age
Heart rate varies significantly across the lifespan. Newborns have the fastest rates, and the number gradually decreases through childhood.
- Newborns (birth to 4 weeks): 100 to 205 bpm
- Infants (1 month to 1 year): 100 to 180 bpm
- Toddlers (1 to 3 years): 98 to 140 bpm
- Preschool age (3 to 5 years): 80 to 120 bpm
- School age (5 to 12 years): 75 to 118 bpm
- Adolescents (13 to 17 years): 60 to 100 bpm
- Adults (18 and older): 60 to 100 bpm
These ranges apply while awake and at rest. A rate consistently below 60 in a non-athlete is called bradycardia, and a resting rate above 100 is called tachycardia. Neither is automatically dangerous, but either one is worth mentioning to your doctor if it’s a new pattern or comes with symptoms like dizziness, chest discomfort, or unusual fatigue.
What to Do if Your Pulse Feels Irregular
While checking your pulse, pay attention to more than just speed. Notice whether the beats arrive at even intervals. An occasional skipped or extra beat is common and usually harmless, but a rhythm that feels persistently uneven, fluttery, or chaotic could signal an arrhythmia like atrial fibrillation.
If you notice irregularity, count for a full 60 seconds and write down both the rate and what the rhythm felt like. For rhythms that come and go unpredictably, a single check may not catch the issue. Wearable monitors that record continuously, whether a smartwatch with an optical sensor or a medical-grade adhesive patch that records for days or weeks, are far more likely to capture sporadic episodes than a brief manual check.