Home › Guide
What is a normal heart rate while sleeping? Usually below your daytime resting pulse.
Reviewed
During sleep your heart rate usually drops below your awake resting pulse, so watch or ring readings in the 50s at night are common. There is no CDC table for sleeping heart rate — the reference numbers are for people awake and seated. To compare yourself fairly, use your resting pulse vs. your age right after you wake.
Your resting pulse
58 BPM at rest is below the 60–100 range the AHA uses for adults — lower than about 87 in 100 people aged 40–59 (CDC).
Resting pulse · ages 40–59 · CDC
Percentile
13of 100
Middle value
70bpm
90 in 100 between
54–91bpm
CDC sample
4,968people
Why the number falls at night
When you sleep, your body’s “rest and digest” side takes over: breathing slows, muscles relax and the heart has less work to do. Pulse falls with it, typically most in the deeper stages of sleep, and rises again toward morning and during dreams.
What to compare it with
The CDC reference data behind this site measured people sitting, awake. For adults, 90 in 100 of them were between 54 and 93 BPM, middle value about 70. A sleeping number below that range is not the same thing as an awake resting pulse below it.
If you want one number to compare with people your age, count your pulse right after waking, before you get up — see the 7-morning check.
When a sleeping number is worth a closer look
- Your awake resting pulse is also below 50 and you are not an endurance athlete.
- You wake up dizzy, unusually tired or short of breath.
- Your night-time numbers have changed a lot from your usual pattern.
In those cases, bring your readings to your clinician. For fainting, chest pain or trouble breathing, call 911.
Heart rate before bed
There is no reference table for the minutes before sleep, so we don’t give a “normal” number. Your pulse usually eases as you settle. If it feels fast at bedtime, late caffeine, alcohol, a heavy meal and stress are common reasons. A few minutes of slow breathing can help you settle, and the wake-up number is the one to compare with people your age.
What moves your sleeping number
The same things that raise a morning reading tend to show up at night first:
- Alcohol in the evening — often a higher pulse through the night.
- A late, heavy meal.
- A warm bedroom.
- A cold or fever coming on.
- A hard workout that day.
Fitness works the other way: as you train more, both your sleeping and your resting numbers tend to drift down over weeks. Look at the trend across many nights rather than any single low or high, and use the morning number for comparisons with other people.
When to talk to a clinician
A single reading moves around a lot. If your resting pulse is above 100 on most mornings, or below 50 and you are not a trained endurance athlete, mention it at your next checkup — bring your readings.
If a fast or slow pulse comes with chest pain, fainting, feeling about to faint, or trouble breathing, call 911 or your local emergency number now.
More questions
Want a real reading? Pulse reads it with your iPhone camera.
Cover the back camera with your fingertip — Pulse reads your heart rate from the light and keeps every reading, with your average, lowest and highest.
- Reads your pulse in about 15 seconds
- Tag each reading: morning, rest, workout, before bed
- History with average, min and max
Free to download, optional Pro. Not a medical device: Pulse reads and keeps your pulse, and it does not detect or predict disease. What the app does
Questions people ask
Is 50 BPM normal when sleeping?
Usually, yes — pulse drops during sleep. More about 50 BPM.
Should my sleeping heart rate be lower than my resting heart rate?
Usually it is. Compare your awake resting number with the age tables, not your sleeping one.
General information, not medical advice — medical disclaimer. Reviewed : sources and reference dates are listed below.
Sources · numbers checked · how we calculate · report an error