To check your pulse, place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the inside of your wrist, just below the base of your thumb. Press lightly until you feel a steady thumping against your fingertips. That’s your heart rate, and the whole process takes about 30 seconds once you know where to press.
Finding Your Pulse at the Wrist
The easiest place to find your pulse is on the thumb side of your inner wrist, where an artery runs close to the surface. Turn one hand palm-up and use the index and middle fingers of your opposite hand to feel for the beat. You’re looking for the soft groove between the bone on the outer edge of your wrist and the tendon that runs down the center.
Press gently. Pushing too hard can actually block blood flow and make the pulse harder to detect. If you don’t feel anything right away, shift your fingers slightly toward your thumb and try again. Most people find it within a few seconds once they’re in the right spot.
One important rule: don’t use your thumb to check your pulse. Your thumb has its own pulse, and you can end up counting that instead of the beat from your wrist. Stick with your index and middle fingers.
Finding Your Pulse at the Neck
If you can’t feel a clear beat at your wrist, try your neck. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers in the groove just to one side of your windpipe, roughly level with your Adam’s apple. This spot picks up the pulse from the carotid artery, which carries blood directly to your brain, so the beat is usually strong and easy to find.
There are a few safety points with the neck method. Never press on both sides of your neck at the same time. Doing so can make you dizzy, lightheaded, or even cause you to faint. Also, if you’ve been told you have plaque buildup in your neck arteries, skip this location entirely and use the wrist instead. As with the wrist, press lightly. You only need enough pressure to feel each beat.
Counting and Calculating Your Heart Rate
Once you’ve found a steady pulse, look at a clock or start a stopwatch. Count the number of beats you feel over 30 seconds, then double that number. The result is your heart rate in beats per minute (bpm). For example, if you count 35 beats in 30 seconds, your heart rate is 70 bpm.
If you’re short on time, you can count for just 10 seconds and multiply by six. This gives a rougher estimate, though. Any slight miscount gets magnified. If you think your heartbeat feels uneven or irregular, counting for a full 60 seconds gives you the most accurate number and lets you notice skipped or extra beats you might miss in a shorter window.
What a Normal Resting Heart Rate Looks Like
For adults 18 and older, a normal resting heart rate falls between 60 and 100 bpm. If you exercise regularly or are particularly fit, yours may sit in the 40s or 50s, which is perfectly healthy.
Children run faster. Here’s a general guide:
- Newborns (up to 4 weeks): 100 to 205 bpm
- Infants (4 weeks to 1 year): 100 to 180 bpm
- Toddlers (1 to 3 years): 98 to 140 bpm
- Preschoolers (3 to 5 years): 80 to 120 bpm
- School-age kids (5 to 12 years): 75 to 118 bpm
- Teens (13 to 17 years): 60 to 100 bpm
A resting heart rate consistently above 100 bpm in an adult is considered too fast (tachycardia), and one below 60 bpm in someone who isn’t athletic may be too slow (bradycardia). Neither is necessarily dangerous on its own, but both are worth paying attention to, especially if you notice other symptoms.
Getting the Most Accurate Reading
Your heart rate changes constantly. Caffeine, stress, a hot room, or simply standing up can push it higher. To get a true resting measurement, sit quietly for at least five minutes before checking. First thing in the morning, before you get out of bed, is ideal.
Avoid checking right after exercise, a meal, or a cup of coffee if you want a baseline number. If you’re tracking your heart rate over time to spot trends, try to measure it under the same conditions each day.
How Smartwatches Compare
Consumer wearables can give you a convenient, hands-free reading, but their accuracy varies. In a validation study of 85 people, a smartwatch’s heart rate readings differed from clinical-grade measurements by an average of about 6.5 bpm, with some individual readings off by considerably more. The device also failed to produce a reading at all in roughly a third of attempts. Higher-end optical sensors tend to perform better, but motion, skin tone, and how snugly the device fits your wrist all affect results.
For everyday tracking, a wearable is fine. But if you’re getting a reading that concerns you, or if your doctor has asked you to monitor your heart rate, confirming the number manually with your fingers is more reliable.
Signs Your Pulse May Need Attention
While you’re counting beats, pay attention to the rhythm. A healthy pulse feels steady and evenly spaced, like a metronome. An occasional skipped beat is common and usually harmless. But if the rhythm feels consistently irregular, or if your resting rate is persistently outside the 60 to 100 range without an obvious explanation, it’s worth scheduling a checkup.
Certain symptoms alongside an unusual pulse call for immediate medical care: chest pain, shortness of breath, or fainting. These can signal a heart rhythm problem that needs urgent evaluation.