A normal resting pulse for adults falls between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). This is measured while you’re awake, calm, and sitting still. Your actual number within that range depends on your fitness level, age, stress, and other factors, so a “normal” reading looks different from person to person.
Normal Pulse by Age
Hearts beat faster in younger bodies. A newborn’s pulse can range from 85 to 205 bpm while awake, which would signal a serious problem in an adult. As children grow, their resting heart rate gradually slows:
- Newborn to 3 months: 85 to 205 bpm awake, 80 to 160 bpm sleeping
- 3 months to 2 years: 100 to 190 bpm awake, 75 to 160 bpm sleeping
- 2 to 10 years: 60 to 140 bpm awake, 60 to 90 bpm sleeping
- Over 10 years: 60 to 100 bpm awake, 50 to 90 bpm sleeping
By about age 10, a child’s resting pulse settles into the same 60 to 100 bpm range used for adults. If your child’s pulse seems high compared to your own, that’s expected, especially in infants and toddlers.
What Counts as Too High or Too Low
Doctors use two specific thresholds. A resting heart rate above 100 bpm is called tachycardia, and a resting rate below 60 bpm is called bradycardia. Neither one automatically means something is wrong. A very fit person can easily have a resting pulse in the 40s or 50s, well below 60, because their heart pumps blood so efficiently that it doesn’t need to beat as often. Elite athletes sometimes have resting rates close to 40 bpm.
On the other end, a pulse over 100 can be completely normal after caffeine, during stress, or when you’re dehydrated. It becomes concerning when it happens regularly at rest with no obvious explanation, or when it comes with symptoms like dizziness, chest pain, or shortness of breath.
Your Pulse During Sleep
Your heart rate drops while you sleep, typically running about 20% to 30% lower than your daytime resting rate. For most healthy adults, that puts the sleeping pulse somewhere between 50 and 75 bpm. The lowest dips happen during deep sleep, when your body is in its most restorative state. During REM sleep (when you dream), your heart rate rises back up and can fluctuate more. If you use a wearable device that tracks overnight heart rate, those lower numbers at night are expected.
What Affects Your Resting Pulse
Your resting heart rate isn’t a fixed number. It shifts throughout the day and across weeks depending on a long list of factors. Some you can’t control: age, sex, and genetics all play a role. Others are directly tied to lifestyle. Regular physical activity lowers resting heart rate over time, while being sedentary, carrying excess weight, or drinking alcohol heavily tends to push it higher.
Short-term spikes are common too. Caffeine, dehydration, heat, stress, and poor sleep all raise your pulse temporarily. Chronic psychological stress and burnout have been shown to reduce heart rate variability, which is the healthy variation in time between beats. Lower variability is generally a sign that your body is under more strain, even if your overall pulse reading still falls in the normal range.
Certain medications also shift heart rate. If you take anything for blood pressure, thyroid conditions, or anxiety, your resting pulse may sit at the lower or higher end of normal because of those treatments.
How to Measure Your Pulse Accurately
Sit down and rest quietly for a few minutes before measuring. Your pulse after walking to the bathroom or climbing stairs won’t reflect your true resting rate. When you’re ready, there are two easy spots to check.
The wrist is the most common. Turn one hand palm-up and place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the thumb side of that wrist, in the groove between the bone and the tendon. Press gently until you feel the beats. Count for a full 60 seconds, or count for 15 seconds and multiply by four.
You can also check on either side of your neck, in the soft groove just beside your windpipe. Use the same two fingertips and press lightly. Don’t press on both sides of the neck at the same time, and avoid this method if you’ve been told you have plaque buildup in your neck arteries.
One important detail: don’t use your thumb. It has its own pulse, which can interfere with your count.
Your Pulse During Exercise
During physical activity, your target heart rate depends on your age and how hard you’re working. A rough formula for your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. So a 40-year-old has an estimated maximum of about 180 bpm. For moderate exercise like brisk walking, you’d aim for 50% to 70% of that maximum (90 to 126 bpm for a 40-year-old). During vigorous exercise like running, the target rises to 70% to 85% of maximum (126 to 153 bpm).
These are guidelines, not hard limits. If you’re just starting to exercise, staying at the lower end of moderate intensity is a reasonable goal. Your resting heart rate should gradually decrease over weeks and months of consistent activity, which is one of the clearest signs your cardiovascular fitness is improving.
Signs Your Pulse Needs Attention
Pay attention to how your pulse feels, not just the number. A heart rhythm that feels like it’s fluttering, pounding, or racing can signal an arrhythmia. A premature heartbeat often feels like your heart “skipped” a beat. Occasional skipped beats are common and usually harmless, but if the sensation is frequent or comes with other symptoms, it’s worth getting checked.
Seek emergency care if an unusual heart rate is paired with chest pain, shortness of breath, or fainting. These combinations can indicate something more serious than a benign rhythm change.