What is resting heart rate, what number is normal, and why does it rise after a night of drinking

While you sleep, your heart beats at its slowest of the day. That number is called your resting heart rate (RHR). It is one of the easiest numbers to measure, and it can tell you more than you might expect.

What resting heart rate is

Resting heart rate is how many times your heart beats in one minute when your body is truly at rest: not moving, not stressed, not just after a coffee. Most wearables measure it while you sleep, because that is when your body is stillest and the readings can be compared from one day to the next.

What counts as normal

According to Mayo Clinic, most adults fall between 60 and 100 beats per minute. People who do regular aerobic exercise often sit below that, and Mayo Clinic notes that 40 to 60 beats per minute is common in healthy young adults and trained athletes.

A low number is not always a good sign. If your resting heart rate is below 60 and you don't exercise regularly, and you also feel dizzy, tire easily or feel faint, talk to a doctor.

Why people pay attention to it

A meta-analysis of 46 studies with around 1.2 million participants (CMAJ, 2016) found that every 10 beats per minute higher in resting heart rate was linked to about a 9% higher risk of death from all causes. This is an association. It does not prove that resting heart rate is the cause, but it does make it a signal worth watching over the long term.

What makes it rise in a single night

Your daily number moves with what you did yesterday. Examples with clear data:

• Alcohol — a study that followed 40 adults with smartwatches found that nighttime resting heart rate rose from about 63.6 to 66.6 beats per minute during periods of moderate drinking, then returned close to where it was once they stopped.
• Short sleep, stress and coming down with something are often mentioned as contributing factors, but the evidence from wearables is still mixed. Treat them as patterns in your own data, not fixed rules.

How to read your own number

1. Look at your own baseline, not someone else's. A resting heart rate of 58 means different things for different people. What matters is your own average over two to four weeks. 2. Notice days that run 5 to 10 beats per minute above your usual, then ask what happened yesterday. Did you drink? Did you go to bed late? 3. Look at the trend over months. Regular aerobic exercise tends to bring resting heart rate down gradually over the long term.

The Health tab in Align shows your resting heart rate when you connect a supported wearable, so you can see the daily trend alongside your sleep and recovery.

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*This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have unusual symptoms or concerns about your heart, please talk to a doctor.*

Sources

• Zhang D, Shen X, Qi X. Resting heart rate and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population: a meta-analysis. CMAJ 2016;188(3):E53–E63. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/3/E53
• The Impact of Alcohol on Sleep Physiology: A Prospective Observational Study on Nocturnal Resting Heart Rate Using Smartwatch Technology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12073130/
• Mayo Clinic. Heart rate: What's normal? https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/heart-rate/faq-20057979
• Mayo Clinic. Bradycardia — symptoms and causes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bradycardia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355474