Measure it first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed. Lie still, place 2 fingers on your neck or inner wrist, and count beats for a full 60 seconds. That's your resting heart rate.
Measure over 3 consecutive mornings and average the results for a more reliable number. Most fitness wearables (Garmin, Apple Watch, Whoop) track this automatically during sleep, which works too and removes the guesswork.
Day 1: 64 bpm, Day 2: 61 bpm, Day 3: 63 bpm → Average resting HR = 63 bpm
What Affects Your Resting Heart Rate Day to Day
Your resting heart rate isn't fixed. It shifts a few beats in either direction based on factors that have nothing to do with your underlying fitness:
Sleep
A short or restless night raises next-morning resting heart rate, often by 3 to 5 bpm. Your nervous system stays more active than it should be at rest.
Stress
Mental stress activates the same sympathetic response as physical stress. A tense week at work can show up directly in your morning number.
Caffeine, Alcohol, and Dehydration
Alcohol the night before is one of the most reliable ways to see a spike the next morning. Caffeine late in the day and simple dehydration both nudge the number up too.
Illness and Heat
Fighting off a cold or sleeping in a hot room both raise resting heart rate temporarily. Give it a few days to settle back down once the cause resolves.
None of this is cause for concern on its own. Track your average over a week or two rather than reacting to any single morning. For the full breakdown of what counts as normal by age, see our guide to what is a good resting heart rate, or our deeper look at understanding resting heart rate.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about resting heart rate and what it means for your fitness.
For most adults, 60 to 100 bpm is normal, and lower within that range generally reflects better cardiovascular fitness. Trained endurance athletes often sit in the 40s or 50s. There's no single number that's good for everyone, what matters most is where you sit relative to your own baseline and whether it's trending down as your fitness improves.
Sleep quality, stress, hydration, caffeine, alcohol, illness, and heat all move your resting heart rate independent of fitness. A single high reading after a bad night's sleep or a late night out isn't cause for concern. What matters is your average over several mornings, not any one day in isolation.
Yes. Regular aerobic training increases stroke volume, the amount of blood your heart pumps per beat, so your heart doesn't need to beat as often to move the same amount of blood at rest. Most people see a measurable drop, often 5 to 15 bpm, within a few months of consistent training.
A resting heart rate persistently above 100 bpm is classified as tachycardia and is worth discussing with a doctor, especially alongside symptoms like shortness of breath or chest discomfort. Short of that threshold, a reading in the 80s or 90s is often explained by a sedentary routine, poor sleep, dehydration, or stress, all things you can change.
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Turn This Number Into Training Zones
Your resting heart rate is half of the Karvonen formula. Pair it with your max heart rate to get 5 personalized training zones, not just a fitness label.
