How to Check Your Heart Rate
Take your pulse at the wrist or neck, count for 15 seconds, and read what your resting heart rate says about your fitness.
You will end up with a morning resting rate you can track over weeks, and you will know which readings to take to a doctor. A check takes two fingers, a timer, basic multiplication, and 15 seconds.
Your resting heart rate says a lot about your cardiovascular fitness. Athletes and very fit people typically have lower resting rates because their hearts pump more blood per beat. A resting rate that gradually decreases over months indicates improving fitness. One that suddenly increases might signal illness, dehydration, or overtraining.
Find your radial pulse (wrist)
Turn one hand palm-up. Place the index and middle fingers of your other hand on the inside of your wrist, on the thumb side, just below the base of your thumb. You are feeling for the radial artery, which runs along the outer edge of your wrist. Press gently until you feel a rhythmic tapping against your fingertips. If you cannot find it, move your fingers slightly toward the center of your wrist or press a little harder. It helps to relax the hand you are checking.
Good to know: Never use your thumb to check your pulse. Your thumb has its own pulse (from the princeps pollicis artery) and it will confuse your count. Always use your index and middle fingers together.
Use the carotid pulse as an alternative (neck)
If you have trouble finding your wrist pulse, the carotid artery in your neck is usually easier to locate. Place two fingers on the side of your neck, in the soft groove between your windpipe and the large muscle that runs from behind your ear to your collarbone. Use one side only, because pressing both sides at once can restrict blood flow to your brain and make you lightheaded. Press gently. You should feel a strong beat.
Count beats for 15 seconds and multiply
Watch a clock with a second hand, use a timer, or count "one-Mississippi" for timing. Count the number of beats you feel in exactly 15 seconds. Multiply that number by 4. That gives your heart rate in beats per minute (BPM). For example, if you count 17 beats in 15 seconds, your heart rate is 68 BPM. If you want more accuracy, count for a full 30 seconds and multiply by 2. The 15-second method is close enough for routine monitoring.
Understand what your resting heart rate means
A normal resting heart rate for adults falls between 60 and 100 BPM. Fit individuals and athletes often range from 40 to 60 BPM because their hearts are more efficient at pumping blood. A resting rate consistently above 100 BPM (called tachycardia) is worth discussing with your doctor. A rate below 60 BPM (called bradycardia) in someone who is not athletic is also worth mentioning.
Measure at the right time for consistency
For the most useful data, measure your resting heart rate first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed, before coffee, and before any physical activity. This gives your true baseline resting rate. Measurements taken later in the day are influenced by caffeine, food, activity, stress, temperature, and hydration. Morning readings provide consistent, comparable data points that reveal actual fitness trends over time.
Know when your heart rate should be elevated
During exercise, your heart rate should increase. The American Heart Association puts maximum heart rate at about 220 minus your age, moderate-intensity activity at about 50 to 70% of that, and vigorous activity at about 70 to 85%. The same page adds two caveats that usually get lost when the formula is repeated. Those figures are averages meant as a general guide, and some drugs and medications lower both your maximum rate and your target zone, so if you take anything regularly the numbers you calculate may not be yours. After exercise, your heart rate falls back toward your resting rate, and it falls faster as you get fitter. This is a useful progress metric beyond just the resting number.
Take a reading every morning for a week to find your baseline, and log it in a notes app, a spreadsheet, or a health app. Judge the trend over weeks rather than any single number. If your resting rate stays above 100, sits below 60 while you feel dizzy or tired, or the rhythm feels persistently irregular, take your log to a doctor (the FAQs below cover irregular beats). One more skill worth having alongside this one is CPR. If someone collapses and is not breathing normally, our guide on how to do CPR covers what to do while help is on the way.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
First thing in the morning, while still lying in bed, as step 5 describes. If you miss that window, sit quietly for at least 5 minutes in a calm place, then check.
The American Heart Association puts the normal range for most adults at 60 to 100 beats per minute and says plainly that lower is better, because it usually means the heart muscle is in better condition and does not have to work as hard to keep a steady beat. So the whole 60 to 100 band is normal, and the useful question is where you sit inside it and which way you are moving. Below 60 often reflects good fitness, since a stronger heart moves more blood per beat and needs fewer of them, and the AHA says an athlete or more active person may run as low as 40. It also notes that studies link a higher resting rate with lower physical fitness, higher blood pressure, and higher body weight, which is why a reading in the 80s or 90s is worth keeping an eye on even though it sits squarely inside normal. What matters most is your personal trend. A rate that gradually decreases over months means your heart is getting more efficient.
Occasional irregular beats (premature beats or palpitations) are very common and usually harmless. Caffeine, alcohol, stress, and lack of sleep can trigger them. However, if you notice a persistently irregular rhythm (consistently irregular spacing between beats), a very fast rate that starts and stops suddenly, or irregular beats accompanied by dizziness, chest pain, or shortness of breath, see a doctor. These could indicate atrial fibrillation or other arrhythmias that need evaluation.
Watches and fitness bands read your pulse optically, by shining light into the skin at your wrist. A 2020 Duke study found consumer wearables reasonably accurate at rest and during a steady elevated heart rate, with errors averaging 30% higher during activity than at rest. The kind of movement matters. A 2017 Stanford study of seven wrist devices found the lowest error during cycling and the highest during walking, and Apple says rhythmic movements such as running or cycling give better results than irregular ones like tennis or boxing. Apple also names cold skin and some tattoos as things that can block a reading. Chest strap monitors read the heart's electrical signal instead of light, and Apple's fix for inconsistent readings is to pair a Bluetooth chest strap. For a morning resting rate, a wrist device is fine. For training zones in sports with irregular arm movement, use a chest strap.
Usually, but not always. A lower rate means your heart is pumping efficiently. However, extremely low rates (below 40 BPM) in non-athletes can indicate a problem with the heart's electrical system. Some medications (particularly beta-blockers) also lower heart rate. The rate itself is just one data point. It matters most in context with your fitness level, medications, and symptoms. A trained runner with a resting rate of 45 and no symptoms is inside the range the AHA describes for athletes. A sedentary person with a rate of 45 who feels dizzy should see a doctor.
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