Average HRV by Age: Am I Normal?
Nightly RMSSD from Oura, WHOOP, Apple Watch, or Garmin. Falls with age, so filter by age band.
What is a normal HRV by age?+
RMSSD falls predictably with age. Rough reference medians: ~60 ms in the 20s, ~38 ms in the 40s, and ~25 ms in the 60s. Because the range is wide and device-dependent, the age-filtered percentile here is a gut-check. Use the HRV Percentile tool for an age-adjusted estimate.
Is a higher HRV always better?+
Generally, higher reflects better parasympathetic tone and recovery, but HRV is intensely individual. Your own multi-week baseline and trend matter far more than a single number or a comparison to other people.
What lowers HRV overnight?+
Alcohol is the most reliable HRV killer (often a 10–20% drop), followed by late caffeine, illness, dehydration, hard training, and acute stress. A morning reading well below baseline is a signal to deload, not push.
Why do my HRV numbers differ between devices?+
Brands measure over different windows (overnight vs morning spot-check), use different sensors (PPG vs ECG), and apply different smoothing. RMSSD is the most portable metric, but absolute values still differ, so pick one device and track its trend.
See how you compare.
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