Understanding the Importance of Your Resting Heart Rate
Wearable fitness gadgets like Fitbits, Garmin watches, Apple Watches, and Oura Rings have introduced a new way of interpreting health data. Among the many numbers and scores these devices provide, one of the most crucial to understand is your Resting Heart Rate (RHR).
What is a Resting Heart Rate?
Your RHR is a numerical value that indicates how many times your heart beats in a minute while you are at rest. Not only does a lower RHR signify better cardiovascular fitness, but it is also a reliable indicator of your heart health and blood pressure – both of which are important markers of longevity.
The Link Between Fitness and RHR
Ollie Weguelin, a fitness expert and director at Sustain Performance explains, “The fitter you are, the more efficient your heart is. Your heart has to work less hard and pump fewer times to deliver blood around your body as the oxygenation of the blood improves and the beats per minute drop.”
Normal Ranges for Resting Heart Rate
For an average healthy adult, the mean range of RHR is typically between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Athletes can have an RHR as low as 30bpm. Understandably, your heart rate will increase during intense activities such as sprinting or lifting heavy weights, with an ‘active’ rate of 120 to 150bpm being normal.
Measuring Your Resting Heart Rate
Though premium wearables like Apple Watches can measure your RHR, you don’t need high-end tech to get an accurate reading. You can simply place your index and middle fingers on your wrist and count the pulse for a minute. Doing this regularly over a week will allow you to calculate an average RHR. Lisa Arthurs, a physiotherapist at Until Wellness Centre, suggests that consistently tracking your RHR over time is the best measure of your heart health.
How to Lower Your Resting Heart Rate
If you’re looking to lower your RHR, Weguelin recommends regular physical activities such as cycling or weight training, reducing alcohol consumption, and managing stress effectively. A meta-review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that endurance training has the most significant impact on lowering your RHR.
The Value of Monitoring Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Aside from your RHR, your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) — the variation in time between heartbeats — is also worth monitoring. As Arthurs explains, “Controlled by the autonomic nervous system, your HRV will increase or decrease depending on the demands you are placing on your heart and is a measure of the efficiency of your heart at responding to those demands.”
Interpreting Your HRV Scores
According to Harvard Health, individuals with high HRV often exhibit superior cardiovascular fitness and are more resilient to stress. While you can measure your HRV with wrist-worn fitness devices or chest straps, Weguelin mentions that the latter, albeit slightly less convenient, provide the closest readings to those taken in a medical setting.
Improving Your RHR and HRV
To lower your RHR and improve your HRV, Arthurs suggests engaging in exercises such as running, high-intensity interval training, as well as yoga and Pilates to manage stress levels. “Most important is finding an activity that you enjoy and can stick with. Slowly increase the intensity to build fitness and cardiovascular robustness,” she adds.
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