A normal resting heart rate for adults falls between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). That range applies whether you’re 18 or 80, though where you personally land within it depends on your fitness level, medications, stress, and other everyday factors. Your resting heart rate is measured when you’re sitting or lying down, calm, and feeling well.
Average Resting Heart Rate by Age
Adults share a single reference range of 60 to 100 bpm, but children are a different story. Younger bodies need faster heart rates because their hearts are smaller and pump less blood with each beat. Here’s how the ranges shift:
- Newborn to 3 months: 85 to 205 bpm while awake, 80 to 160 bpm while sleeping
- 3 months to 2 years: 100 to 190 bpm while awake, 75 to 160 bpm while sleeping
- 2 to 10 years: 60 to 140 bpm while awake, 60 to 90 bpm while sleeping
- Over 10 years: 60 to 100 bpm while awake, 50 to 90 bpm while sleeping
By the time a child reaches about 10 years old, their resting heart rate settles into the same 60 to 100 bpm range used for adults. That range stays consistent through older adulthood as well.
What Counts as Too Fast or Too Slow
A resting heart rate above 100 bpm is called tachycardia. A resting rate below 60 bpm is called bradycardia. Neither label automatically means something is wrong. Context matters enormously.
Many fit, healthy people sit comfortably below 60 bpm because their heart muscle is strong enough to pump the same volume of blood in fewer beats. On the other hand, a resting rate that stays above 100 when you’re calm and haven’t recently exercised, had caffeine, or been under acute stress can signal that your heart is working harder than it should be. Persistent tachycardia is worth investigating because it can be linked to thyroid issues, anemia, dehydration, or heart rhythm problems.
Why Athletes Have Lower Heart Rates
Endurance training makes the heart larger and stronger, so it ejects more blood per beat. The result is a resting heart rate that often drops to 40 to 50 bpm. Some elite athletes go even lower. Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain famously had a resting heart rate of 28 bpm.
Training also changes the upper end of the range. Highly trained endurance athletes can sustain a maximum heart rate higher than what age-based formulas predict. During his world-record marathon in Berlin in 2022, Eliud Kipchoge ran at roughly 180 bpm for nearly the entire race. In sports like archery and shooting, athletes actually train to lower their heart rate on command, timing their shots between beats when the body is most still. Slowing the breath, especially lengthening the exhale, is the most effective technique for bringing heart rate down in the moment.
What Affects Your Resting Heart Rate
Your resting rate isn’t a fixed number. It shifts throughout the day and from one day to the next. Some of the most common influences:
- Physical fitness: Regular cardio exercise gradually lowers resting heart rate over weeks and months.
- Stress and emotions: Anxiety, excitement, and even watching a tense movie can temporarily push your rate up.
- Caffeine and stimulants: Coffee, energy drinks, and certain medications raise heart rate for hours after consumption.
- Temperature: Heat exposure increases heart rate as your body works to cool itself.
- Sleep: Heart rate naturally drops during sleep, often 10 to 20 bpm below your daytime resting rate.
- Medications: Beta-blockers and some blood pressure drugs deliberately slow heart rate. Other medications, including certain antidepressants, can raise it.
- Body position: Standing raises your rate slightly compared to sitting or lying down.
Illness, dehydration, and hormonal changes (including thyroid imbalances and pregnancy) also shift the number. A single high reading after a stressful morning or a cup of coffee doesn’t tell you much. Trends over time are far more informative.
How to Measure Your Resting Heart Rate
The most accurate reading comes when you’re sitting or lying down, calm, and haven’t recently exercised, eaten a large meal, or had caffeine. First thing in the morning, before you get out of bed, is ideal if you want a consistent baseline to track over time.
To measure manually, place two fingers (index and middle) on the inside of your wrist, just below the base of your thumb. Count the beats for 30 seconds and multiply by two. Wearable devices and smartwatches do this automatically and can show you patterns across days and weeks, which is more useful than any single reading.
Your Heart Rate During Exercise
When you’re working out, heart rate becomes a practical gauge of how hard you’re pushing. The standard formula for estimating your maximum heart rate is 208 minus 0.7 times your age. For a 40-year-old, that works out to about 180 bpm.
From there, exercise intensity breaks down into two zones. Moderate intensity sits at 50% to 70% of your maximum. For that same 40-year-old, moderate effort means a heart rate of roughly 90 to 126 bpm. Think brisk walking, easy cycling, or a light swim. Vigorous intensity covers 70% to 85% of your max, or about 126 to 153 bpm for a 40-year-old. Running, fast cycling, and competitive sports typically land here.
These formulas are population averages, not personalized prescriptions. Individual variation is significant, so treat the numbers as a starting point. If you feel lightheaded or can’t catch your breath at a heart rate that the formula says should be “moderate,” trust how your body feels over what the math says.