Ideal Range
Athletes: 40-60 bpm. General population: 50-70 bpm during sleep. Look for your personal baseline.
Related Metrics
What is Resting Heart Rate?
Your resting heart rate during sleep reflects your cardiovascular health and recovery status. It should be at its lowest point during deep sleep and gradually rise toward morning.
Why Resting Heart Rate Matters
Lower resting heart rate generally indicates better cardiovascular fitness and recovery. Elevated sleeping heart rate can signal illness, overtraining, stress, alcohol consumption, or poor recovery. Tracking trends reveals your body's adaptation to training and lifestyle.
How to Improve Resting Heart Rate
Common Mistakes
- Drinking alcohol and seeing elevated HR
- Eating heavy meals late at night
- Overtraining without adequate recovery
- Ignoring upward trends that signal illness/overtraining
- Being sedentary - lack of cardio keeps HR elevated
The Science
During sleep, your parasympathetic nervous system dominates, lowering heart rate. The lowest point typically occurs during deep sleep in the first half of the night. Heart rate naturally rises toward morning as cortisol increases and the body prepares to wake. A 'heart rate dip' - where sleeping HR is significantly lower than daytime - is associated with better cardiovascular outcomes.
Other Sleep Metrics
Deep Sleep
Deep sleep, also called slow-wave sleep (SWS) or N3 sleep, is the most restorati...
Ideal: 1.5-2 hours (15-25% of total sleep) for
REM Sleep
REM sleep is characterized by rapid eye movements, vivid dreams, and temporary m...
Ideal: 1.5-2 hours (20-25% of total sleep) for
HRV
Heart Rate Variability measures the variation in time between heartbeats. Higher...
Ideal: Highly individual - track your personal
Sleep Efficiency
Sleep efficiency is the percentage of time in bed that you actually spend sleepi...
Ideal: 85-95% for healthy adults. Above 95% mig