Evidence guide · 7 min read
Resting heart rate by age
Most adult charts show one broad range. Age matters more in children, while fitness, medicine and your own repeated baseline add the context a chart cannot.
Reviewed by Pulselens editorial · Updated 25 September 2026
For most healthy adults, the commonly cited resting heart rate range is 60–100 beats per minute (bpm). That range is a screening reference—not a target everyone should chase and not proof that every value inside it is healthy for every person.
Resting heart rate ranges by age
Children generally have faster resting heart rates than adults. The ranges below come from the US National Library of Medicine’s nursing reference table and describe awake, resting measurements.
| Age | Reference resting range |
|---|---|
| Newborn, 0–1 month | 100–160 bpm |
| Infant, 1–12 months | 80–140 bpm |
| Toddler, 1–3 years | 80–130 bpm |
| Preschool, 3–5 years | 80–110 bpm |
| School age, 6–12 years | 70–100 bpm |
| Adolescent, 13–18 years | 60–100 bpm |
| Adult | 60–100 bpm |
Does adult resting heart rate change by decade?
Unlike paediatric ranges, major public-health guidance does not assign a different “normal” band to every adult decade. The American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic both use 60–100 bpm for most adults. A lower resting rate often accompanies cardiovascular fitness; trained athletes may be around 40–60 bpm without symptoms.
That does not mean lower is always better. Medicines, electrical conduction problems, thyroid conditions and other factors can slow the heart. Fitness is one explanation—not a universal conclusion.
How to measure a true resting pulse
- Measure before activity. Morning before getting out of bed, caffeine or exercise is a useful repeatable time.
- Find the pulse. Place your index and middle fingers on the thumb side of the wrist. Do not use your thumb.
- Count long enough. Count for 30 seconds and multiply by two. If the rhythm feels irregular, count for a full 60 seconds.
- Repeat on several days. A pattern is more informative than one reading taken after poor sleep, worry or rushing.
Why your number changes
Posture, room temperature, dehydration, fever, pain, anxiety, sleep, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, exercise recovery, hormones and medicines can all shift resting heart rate. A number taken after climbing stairs is not a resting heart rate, even if you stop moving before checking it.
This is why your own stable baseline matters. A repeated change from your usual level may be worth noticing even when both values sit inside the broad 60–100 bpm adult range.
What counts as too high or too low?
In adults, a resting rate consistently above 100 bpm is called tachycardia. A rate below 60 bpm is called bradycardia, but can be expected in trained people and during sleep. The number alone does not identify the cause.
Heart rate is not HRV
Two people can both average 65 bpm while having very different timing between individual beats. Resting heart rate describes speed; heart rate variability describes beat-to-beat timing. They can complement each other, but neither should be treated as a diagnosis from one home reading.
Sources
Check your current pulse without a wearable.
Pulselens estimates your resting pulse from subtle colour changes in your face. Camera frames stay on your device, and uncertain signals are labelled rather than treated as fact.
Start free 60-second scan