How do you measure your resting HR?

rockmuncher said:

I was reading the posts in the "What's your waking HR?" poll, and it occurred to me that there doesn't seem to be defined standard for obtaining you waking HR. What method do you use? Have you seen a defined method posted somewhere?

I use to use hand timing, but it was a pain in the butt trying to get a pulse and count it. So I switched to using my polar HRM, but the readings always seemed to high (I have to get up and race across the room to turn off my alarm clock before it wakes the kids).

Now I get up, visit china, attach the HRM, then lie back down for at least a minute before starting a recording. I record for minimum of 5 mins, then take the lowest 60 secs worth, with some attached rules. There can't be any marked peaks or troughs in the chosen 60 secs, and the trend of the majority of the graph must be reasonably even and stable.

I just wear my HRM to sleep. It records Min and Max HR. Just check your minimum. That's what I do.

rockmuncher said:

I was reading the posts in the "What's your waking HR?" poll, and it occurred to me that there doesn't seem to be defined standard for obtaining you waking HR. What method do you use? Have you seen a defined method posted somewhere?
e.

Welcome to the forum, young man. Perhaps you can tell us a bit about yourself. They call me "531" :p

When I bolt up out of bed, I get such a shock, that my HR goes up too much.
It's like: "[censored]! What day is it? Where am I? Am I supposed to be somewhere? Have I slept in? Have I slept for a week? AAAAAAAGGGHH...Where's a calender?" So, I can't do it then.

Provided I'm not dehydrated, and haven't had a huge meal late at night, and/or I haven't had any beer, I find the best time is when I'm just starting to doze off.

I'm no genetic freak; the lowest I've ever seen my resting HR is 48

531Aussie said:

Welcome to the forum, young man. Perhaps you can tell us a bit about yourself. They call me "531" :p

Well if it isn't 531, lurkin in someone else's bedroom again 😄

rockmuncher said:

Well if it isn't 531, lurkin in someone else's bedroom again 😄

i think he's lying he hears the wife snoring rolls over to see her, hair a mess makup smudged everywhere still drooling on her pillow and then its, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! and his heart rate goes through the roof.

then its what day is it, please let me have to be somewhere else bolting out of the bed to check for any reminders hoping and panicking that he may have still be there when she awakens.

54321 'Deep breathing to calm from the horror each morning more like...

i like to take mine when the kids have gone to sleep and as the missus is just starting to dose off, thats got to be the most relaxing moment of the day watching her drift off to sleep, i most deffinately couldn't take it first thing in a morning since i'm in the same boat as 531 ...lol

Rockmuncher: Your morning routine with the HRM sounds fine. The only suggestion I would have is to use whatever the avg is for the full 5 minutes. It shouldn't be a game of trying to find the lowest number you can record. What you want is simply a consistent method so you can watch for trends and deviation from the trend. Typically a significant rise or drop in resting HR is an indication of overtraining (or illness). Interestingly it is the deviation from your normal resting HR which is the indicator, not the direction of change.

Not as many takers on this thread as I thought there might be. :o

FWIW:

Wearing an HRM to bed is not the best method. For a start they can be uncomfortable!

More importantly your resting HR is not a single reading (ie. the single lowest HR recorded over a night's sleep). Such a reading is more likely to well outside the mean. Palewin's post mentioned that using a whole minute's worth of readings might not be sufficient as the results still might be skewed too far from the true mean.

Further, your heart rate can drop to very low levels during deep sleep. In fact, there is a point in the wee hours of the morning where most people sleep so deeply that their heartrate is below their true resting heartrate.

As for taking the reading before going to bed, Aussie531 has already highlighted a few problems (eg. fatigue, dehydration, influences such as alcohol, stress, etc) with that method. But the main problem with it is that your body hasn't even started recovering! If you trace your heartrate during overnight recovery you see nice little saw-tooth ramps as your body mends itself and the heart rate settles down. The difference in HR between going to bed and waking can be significant. Especially if you're watching your wife doze off to sleep and you mind (or hands) begin to wander. 😉

Aussie531 also pointed out a common waking phenomenon: high HR caused by a fight or flight response to waking. My HR always stays high for up to 5 mins after getting up and turning off the alarm clock. That's why I rest for a few minutes before starting the reading.

And finally, Palewin mentioned that I should average the whole five minutes. He is absolutely on the money when he says that it shouldn't be a game of finding the absolute minimum. But by the same token you want a true indication, so you need to eliminate error where possible. Averaging does this quite well, but all too often I see steep ramps at the start and end of a 5 minute reading that are obviously abberrant data.

So I'm gunning for a 3/5 method: Rest five minutes after waking (without falling back to sleep!), read for five minutes then eliminate the first and last minutes so that any fidgetting and fussing doesn't influence the reading.

Any other thoughts?

rockmuncher said:

Not as many takers on this thread as I thought there might be. :o

FWIW:

Wearing an HRM to bed is not the best method. For a start they can be uncomfortable!

More importantly your resting HR is not a single reading (ie. the single lowest HR recorded over a night's sleep). Such a reading is more likely to well outside the mean. Palewin's post mentioned that using a whole minute's worth of readings might not be sufficient as the results still might be skewed too far from the true mean.

Further, your heart rate can drop to very low levels during deep sleep. In fact, there is a point in the wee hours of the morning where most people sleep so deeply that their heartrate is below their true resting heartrate.

As for taking the reading before going to bed, Aussie531 has already highlighted a few problems (eg. fatigue, dehydration, influences such as alcohol, stress, etc) with that method. But the main problem with it is that your body hasn't even started recovering! If you trace your heartrate during overnight recovery you see nice little saw-tooth ramps as your body mends itself and the heart rate settles down. The difference in HR between going to bed and waking can be significant. Especially if you're watching your wife doze off to sleep and you mind (or hands) begin to wander. 😉

Aussie531 also pointed out a common waking phenomenon: high HR caused by a fight or flight response to waking. My HR always stays high for up to 5 mins after getting up and turning off the alarm clock. That's why I rest for a few minutes before starting the reading.

And finally, Palewin mentioned that I should average the whole five minutes. He is absolutely on the money when he says that it shouldn't be a game of finding the absolute minimum. But by the same token you want a true indication, so you need to eliminate error where possible. Averaging does this quite well, but all too often I see steep ramps at the start and end of a 5 minute reading that are obviously abberrant data.

So I'm gunning for a 3/5 method: Rest five minutes after waking (without falling back to sleep!), read for five minutes then eliminate the first and last minutes so that any fidgetting and fussing doesn't influence the reading.

Any other thoughts?

rest for five minutes in a morning without falling back asleep, i can't function until i have moved my bowels then can relax, nothing like the relaxing feeling of a long morning dump :p

closesupport said:

rest for five minutes in a morning without falling back asleep, i can't function until i have moved my bowels then can relax, nothing like the relaxing feeling of a long morning dump :p

Like I sed in my original post: Now I get up, visit china...
Glad you could clear things up tho :😉