What is a normal heart rate while sleeping?
About 50 to 80 on a watch, and under 60 can be fine asleep if you feel well. But one person’s normal can be up to 70 beats from another’s. Your pattern tells you more.
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What is a normal sleeping heart rate?
For most watch wearers, somewhere around 50 to 80 beats a minute. Your heart usually beats a little slower asleep than awake.
A US study tracked 92,457 adults wearing a Fitbit for up to two years. Their resting rate was measured mostly while they slept.
The average was 65.5, and 95% of men sat between 50 and 80. For women it was 53 to 82.
Awake, a normal resting rate for adults is usually 60 to 100, says the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Asleep, under 60 can be OK for some people.
- Below 60 bpmCan be OK asleep, if you feel well.
- 60 up to 100 bpmUsual adult resting range.
- Above 100 bpmFast at rest. BHF: see a GP.
Sources: BHF; BHF: checking your pulse
Women’s resting rate is slightly higher than men’s. So a woman at 66 and a man at 60 can both be typical.
Your next step: note the number your watch or ring shows most nights. That is the one to compare against, not someone else’s.
Is a low heart rate while sleeping OK?
It can be, if you feel well when you’re up. The BHF lists being asleep as one time a rate under 60 can be OK. Being very fit or taking beta blockers (a medicine that slows the heart) are others.
No UK source gives a sleeping number that is too low for everyone. The useful question is how you feel by day.
The BHF says see your GP if you feel faint or have fainted, feel very tired or low on energy, or feel dizzy. Low in the 40s and feel fine? Read is a low resting heart rate bad?
Why is my sleeping heart rate high?
Look at the day before. A drink, a cold or a stressful day can all push it up.
| Reason | What the sources say | Clue |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | Raises it, more with more drink. | Higher on nights you drank. |
| Infection or fever | Common for it to rise. | Cold, flu or a temperature. |
| Not enough fluid | Normal for it to rise. | Thirsty, dark pee, hot day. |
| Anxiety and stress | Can cause a fast rate. | Worry before bed. |
| Overactive thyroid or anaemia (too few red blood cells) | Can cause a fast rate. | Stays high. Ask a GP. |
Sources: BHF; BHF: checking your pulse; Pietilä 2018
Alcohol shows up clearly. A Finnish study compared 4,098 workers’ nights with and without a drink. After heavy drinking, their heart beat about 9 beats a minute faster in the first 3 hours of sleep.
Even small amounts raised it by about 1 beat. See how alcohol affects your sleep.
Fast at rest for no obvious reason? The BHF says it’s important to see your GP.
Woken by a pounding heart? Read heart racing when you wake up.
Why does my heart rate go up and down at night?
Because sleep comes in stages. Your heart slows in deep sleep and speeds up again when you dream.
Your heart rate through a night
- 1
Falling asleep
Your rate starts to drop below your daytime level.
- 2
Deep sleep
It drops to its lowest.
- 3
Dreaming sleep
It rises back to about your awake level.
Source: Somers 1993
In a small lab study of 8 healthy adults, the rate fell from 64 awake to 59 in deep sleep. In dreaming sleep (REM) it went back to waking levels.
So a rise on your graph can simply be dreaming sleep. Studies call a fall of less than 10% from day to night a “non-dip”.
In 3,957 people sent for 24-hour blood pressure checks, the smallest dips were linked to a higher risk of death. That is a link in patients, not proof, and not a score to chase on a watch.
If your graph rises and falls but you feel well by day, just keep noting your usual number each morning.
How to read your own sleeping heart rate
Watch your own trend, not the chart. In the Fitbit study, people’s usual rates were up to 70 beats apart, yet each person stayed fairly steady over time.
Swings happen. In the Fitbit study, a fifth of people had at least one week where their rate moved by 10 or more.
That steady number is your baseline. It works like your usual time on a regular walk.
One slow walk after a bad night means little. Weeks of odd times are worth a look. Likewise, a heart rate that stays fast or slow for no reason is worth a GP chat.
Watches and rings can help you track, but they cannot diagnose a condition. See how much to trust your sleep tracker.
What to do with your sleeping heart rate this week
- Write down your watch’s sleeping or resting heart rate each morning for a week.
- Note anything from the day before: drinks, illness, stress or a late night.
- Once a day, check your pulse by hand after sitting or lying down for 5 minutes, before caffeine or a cigarette.
- Count for 30 seconds and double it, at the same time each day.
- Noticed a change in your heart rate on a medicine? Speak to your doctor.
- Fast at rest for no obvious reason, or slow and you feel faint, dizzy or very tired? Book a GP appointment.
Sources: BHF; BHF: checking your pulse
Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without your prescriber.
When to speak to a GP
Book an appointment if:
- Your heart rate is consistently fast, slow or irregular, especially if you feel faint or dizzy too.
- Your rate is slow and you feel faint or have fainted, feel very tired or low on energy, or feel dizzy.
- Your rate is fast for no obvious reason or when you’re at rest.
- You feel well but get palpitations (a heartbeat you can feel pounding, fluttering or racing) that keep coming back, happen more often or last longer than a few minutes, or you have a heart condition or a family history of heart problems.
- Your breathing stops and starts in your sleep, you gasp, snort or choke, or you always feel very tired during the day.
Call 999 or go to A&E if you have palpitations now that don’t go away. The same goes if they come with chest pain, shortness of breath, or feeling faint or fainting. Don’t drive yourself to A&E.