Swimming, cycling, and other activities that target the aerobic heart rate zone will also help lower your RHR and benefit your overall fitness level. A brisk walk will elevate your heart rate during the activity and for a short period after, and exercising daily gradually decreases your RHR. Starting to improve RHR can be as easy as walking out the door.

A consistently higher RHR may be associated with cardiovascular issues. In adults, a lower RHR is correlated with a higher degree of fitness and lower incidence of cardiac events. Altogether, there is a wide range of normal RHR, depending on gender, age and many other factors, however, experiencing unusually high or low RHR may indicate an underlying problem. Your heart rate varies from minute to minute, but your RHR tends to remain fairly stable from day to day. What can resting heart rate readings indicate? When WHOOP members report stress, RHR increases by an average of 1 beat per minute. Body position–RHR can be 3 bpm higher when sitting versus lying down and rises upon standing, according to Harvard Health Publishing.High air temperatures and high humidity can increase RHR.Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to a lower metabolism and raise RHR.Disorders such as anemia, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can affect RHR.Blood pressure medications such as Beta blockers and some migraine medications can lower RHR.Decongestants or allergy medications may elevate RHR.Researchers at University College London found that RHR decreases by an average 5–15 bpm within a day of stopping smoking and remains at that level for at least a year. Coffee and caffeinated drinks can temporarily raise your RHR.High BMI is associated with elevated RHR according to this study. Weight–there is a correlation between RHR and body mass index (BMI).Other emotions, such as happiness, can also raise your RHR. Our data indicates men and women see similar changes in RHR due to stress in most age groups. Overall, 60% of the time WHOOP members input experiencing stress (via the WHOOP Journal feature) it results in an increase in resting heart rate. Prolonged stress can increase RHR and lead to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. RHR by age and gender for the average adult, based on data from the US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. The charts below show how resting heart rates of WHOOP members and Americans overall vary by gender and change over time. Resting heart rate by age and gender (Chart)Īs we age our RHR changes, increasing until around 40 years old and then leveling off. Since many of our members tend to be athletes and/or people who are particularly interested in monitoring their health and well-being, it’s not surprising that the normal RHR for men and women on WHOOP is below what the Center of Disease Control considers average.

WHOOP data shows this translates into an average RHR about 3.5 bpm higher for females than males.Īcross all ages, the average resting heart rate for women wearing WHOOP is 58.8 bpm, and for men it’s 55.2 bpm. As a result, each heartbeat produces less blood flow, meaning the heart needs to pump faster in order to achieve the necessary output. Women typically have smaller hearts than men do. When your heart doesn’t need to work as hard to push blood through your body to supply oxygen to your muscles, your level of fitness increases. A low RHR is a sign of a strong heart muscle that can pump enough blood to supply the body with oxygen without having to labor too hard. Generally speaking, when your heart rate decreases, it means that each beat is more effective. The average RHR is between 60-100 bpm, according to the American Heart Association. A lower resting heart rate is usually a good sign. The metric is useful for monitoring your fitness level and heart health. RHR, also called basal heart rate, is a measure of your average heart beats per minute (bpm) while your body is at rest in a neutrally temperate environment and has not been subject to recent strain.

Good pulse rate