Health Tip: Find Your Resting Heart Rate

(HealthDay News) — A normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, but this rate will be affected by a person’s stress, caffeine consumption, anxiety, hormones, medication and fitness level, the American Heart Association says.

Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute while you are at rest.

The best time to check your resting heart rate is in the morning before you get out of bed, the AHA says.

The association suggests how to measure your resting heart rate:

  • Take your pulse on the inside of your wrist, on the thumb side.
  • Use the tips of your first two fingers (not your thumb) and press lightly over the artery.
  • Count your pulse for 60 seconds to ascertain the number of beats per minute.