The easiest way to feel your heartbeat is to place two fingertips on the inside of your wrist, just below the base of your palm on the thumb side. You can also feel it at your neck, on your chest, or even on the top of your foot. A normal resting heart rate falls between 60 and 100 beats per minute, so you should feel a steady pulse roughly once every second.
Finding Your Pulse at the Wrist
The wrist is the most common and convenient spot. Turn your hand so your palm faces up and find the groove between your wrist bone and the tendon on the thumb side. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers from your other hand into that groove. Press lightly, just enough to feel each beat. Pressing too hard actually compresses the artery and blocks the blood flow you’re trying to detect, which makes the pulse disappear.
Don’t use your thumb to check a pulse. Your thumb has its own pulse, so you may end up counting that instead of the one you’re looking for.
Other Pulse Points on Your Body
Your radial pulse at the wrist is the go-to, but several other spots work well depending on the situation:
- Neck (carotid pulse): Place two fingers beside your windpipe, just under your jaw. Only check one side at a time. Pressing both sides simultaneously can reduce blood flow to your brain and make you lightheaded.
- Top of the foot (dorsalis pedis pulse): Feel along the top of your foot near the ankle. This one is fainter and takes more patience, but it’s useful for checking circulation in the lower legs.
- Inside of the elbow (brachial pulse): Press gently into the crease of your elbow on the inner side of your arm. This is the same artery a blood pressure cuff measures.
The neck typically gives the strongest, most obvious pulse. If you’re having trouble finding your heartbeat at the wrist, try the carotid first.
Feeling Your Heartbeat on Your Chest
You can feel your heart beating directly through your chest wall. The strongest spot is called the point of maximal impulse, located in the fifth intercostal space, which translates to roughly the area just below your left nipple, close to the midline of your collarbone. Place your open palm flat against this spot and you should feel a gentle thump with each beat.
Lying on your left side makes this sensation more noticeable. In that position, gravity shifts your heart closer to the chest wall, so the impulse becomes easier to detect. If you’ve ever noticed your heartbeat while lying in bed at night, this is likely why. It’s completely normal and doesn’t mean anything is wrong with your heart.
Why Some People Feel Their Heartbeat More Easily
Some people are naturally more tuned in to internal body signals like their heartbeat, even without pressing on a pulse point. This ability, called interoception, varies significantly from person to person. Research using brain imaging has found that people who perform better on heartbeat detection tasks show higher activity in a specific region of the brain’s insular cortex, an area that processes internal body sensations like pain, temperature, and organ signals.
Several factors influence how easily you notice your own heartbeat. Thinner body types tend to feel it more readily because there’s less tissue between the heart and the skin. Higher heart rates make beats stronger and easier to detect, which is why you often notice your heart pounding during exercise or anxiety. People with anxiety disorders are frequently more attuned to their heartbeat, likely because their baseline arousal level is elevated. Interestingly, research from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that a tendency toward negative thinking can actually interfere with accurate heartbeat perception, suggesting that emotional state colors how well you sense what’s happening inside your body.
How to Count Your Heart Rate
Once you’ve found your pulse, count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds, then multiply by four. That gives you your beats per minute. For a more accurate reading, count for a full 60 seconds. Sit quietly for at least five minutes beforehand if you want a true resting heart rate.
Most adults land between 60 and 100 beats per minute at rest. Very fit athletes can sit as low as 40. If your pulse feels regular and falls within that range, there’s generally nothing to worry about. Pay attention to whether the rhythm is steady or irregular. Occasional skipped beats happen to nearly everyone, but a consistently irregular rhythm is worth noting.
Tips if You’re Having Trouble
If you can’t find your pulse, a few adjustments help. First, make sure your hands are warm. Cold fingers have reduced blood flow and less sensitivity. Second, try after sitting still for a few minutes rather than while moving around, since muscle tension and movement create competing sensations. Third, adjust your finger position slightly. The artery at your wrist is only a few millimeters wide, so shifting your fingertips even a small amount can make the difference between feeling nothing and feeling a clear beat.
If you still can’t find it, move to your neck. The carotid artery is larger and closer to the surface, making it the easiest pulse point for most people. You can also try placing your hand flat over the left side of your chest while lying down quietly in a still room.
When a Noticeable Heartbeat May Be a Concern
Feeling your heartbeat is normal, especially during or after exercise, when you’re stressed, or when you’re lying quietly. Heart palpitations, the sensation that your heart is racing, fluttering, or pounding, are common and usually harmless.
However, palpitations paired with certain other symptoms deserve attention. Dizziness, confusion, chest pain or pressure, shortness of breath, or unusual sweating alongside a pounding heart can signal a more serious issue. If palpitations suddenly become more frequent or more intense than usual, that’s also worth a call to your doctor. Palpitations that won’t stop, or that come with fainting or severe chest tightness radiating to your jaw, neck, or arms, are a reason to call emergency services.
One specific situation to be aware of: if you notice a pulsing sensation in your abdomen that feels like a heartbeat, especially if it’s new or prominent, mention it to your doctor. While thin people can sometimes feel their abdominal aorta pulsing normally, a strong or newly noticeable pulse there can occasionally indicate an abdominal aortic aneurysm, particularly in older adults or those with a history of high blood pressure.