HRV by age: what's a normal heart rate variability?
Enter your HRV and see how it compares with healthy adults your age and sex. HRV falls with age, so a number that's low at 30 can be average at 60.
Add your details to see where you stand.
HRV (SDNN) by age, in ms
| Age | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 to 34 | 24 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 |
| 35 to 44 | 19 | 32 | 45 | 59 | 72 |
| 45 to 54 | 19 | 28 | 37 | 46 | 55 |
| 55 to 64 | 15 | 22 | 31 | 39 | 47 |
| 65 to 74 | 13 | 20 | 28 | 36 | 43 |
| Age | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 to 34 | 23 | 36 | 50 | 64 | 77 |
| 35 to 44 | 23 | 33 | 45 | 56 | 66 |
| 45 to 54 | 18 | 27 | 37 | 47 | 56 |
| 55 to 64 | 14 | 23 | 33 | 43 | 52 |
| 65 to 74 | 13 | 21 | 30 | 39 | 47 |
Columns are percentiles. The 50th is average and the 90th is better than 9 in 10 people that age. Voss et al., Short-term heart rate variability: influence of gender and age in healthy subjects, PLoS One, 2015.
What's a normal HRV for your age?
The table comes from a German study of 1,906 healthy adults, who lay still for a 5-minute heart recording. In men aged 25 to 34, SDNN averaged about 50 ms. By 65 to 74 it was about 30 ms. Women followed almost the same curve. The spread is wide at every age, so two healthy people the same age can differ by 20 ms or more.
The study gave averages and spreads rather than percentiles, so the percentiles here are worked out from them. HRV has a long tail of high values, so treat the 10th and 90th columns as rough.
SDNN or RMSSD?
Apple Watch reports SDNN, the spread of the gaps between heartbeats. Oura, Whoop, Garmin and Polar report RMSSD, which measures the change from one beat to the next and reads differently. Compare Apple Watch with this table, and a ring or strap only with its own history. A watch also takes short readings through the day rather than one 5-minute recording lying down, so even Apple Watch is a rough match.
Why it matters
A meta-analysis of 8 studies with 21,988 people without known heart disease found that those with the lowest SDNN had about a 35% higher risk of a first cardiovascular event than those with the highest. These studies are observational, so low HRV may be a sign of poor health more than a cause of it.
How to raise it
Regular cardio, enough sleep and less alcohol. In 4,098 Finnish employees who wore heart monitors, HRV in the first hours of sleep dropped on nights they drank, even after small amounts. Day to day, HRV swings with sleep, stress and training, so your own two-week average says more than any single reading.
Questions
What is a normal HRV for my age?
On Apple Watch's SDNN, about 50 ms is average for men aged 25 to 34 and about 30 ms at 65 to 74. Women are close to the same. The table on this page shows each decade, from 25 to 74.
Why is my HRV low?
Short sleep, illness, stress, alcohol and hard training all lower it for a few days. If it stays low for weeks, it may reflect your fitness or health. HRV also falls with age, so compare yourself with your age group.
Can I compare my Oura or Whoop HRV with this table?
No. Oura and Whoop report RMSSD, a different measure of HRV. This table is SDNN, which Apple Watch reports.
Sources
- Short-term heart rate variability: influence of gender and age in healthy subjects. Voss et al., PLoS One, 2015.
- Heart rate variability and first cardiovascular event in populations without known cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis and dose-response meta-regression. Hillebrand et al., EP Europace, 2013.
- Acute effect of alcohol intake on cardiovascular autonomic regulation during the first hours of sleep in a large real-world sample of Finnish employees. Pietilä et al., JMIR Mental Health, 2018.
Go deeper: What your HRV says, and what it doesn't