9 Simple Ways to Get a Healthy Heart Rate

Is your heart beating faster than you realize? That can be really hard on your ticker. Here's why you should aim for a healthy heart rate.

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Why a healthy heart rate matters

One of the factors that can accurately predict your risk of heart problems may be how fast your heart beats when you’re at rest. This is a mark of how hard your heart has to work to circulate your blood. “At a higher rate, the heart needs more oxygen, stressing the cardiovascular system,” says Kim Fox, MD, of the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. A Danish study that followed nearly 2,800 participants for 16 years showed that an elevated resting heart rate is a risk factor for death, independent of physical activity level or other cardiovascular risk factors. “The higher your resting heart rate, the harder your heart is working which can indicate an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure,” says fitness expert Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, author of 2 Day Diabetes Diet.

taking heart rate at wrist
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Know how to take your heart rate

Taking your heart rate can help assess your overall health, as well as specific cardiovascular problems like holiday heart syndrome—heavy eating and drinking around the holiday season. So what is a healthy resting heart rate? According to the American Heart Association, people over 10 years old should have a rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute (well-trained athletes can aim lower, between 40 and 60). To take your pulse and find your heart rate, locate it on your wrist toward your thumb. Use your first two fingers to count the beats in 15 seconds, then multiply by four (or count for 30 seconds and double it). You also can count for the full minute. Repeat for an accurate reading. You’ll be the most relaxed first thing in the morning or after sitting still for about 10 minutes, so that’s the ideal time to take it. “Keeping your heart rate within a healthy range prevents your heart from working overtime,” Palinski-Wade says.

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Increase your physical activity

Lowering your heart rate—one of the top ways to reduce heart disease risk—can be accomplished through good old exercise. Athletes pride themselves on it: A lower resting heart rate indicates they’re in better physical shape, so their hearts don’t have to pump as hard. “A lower resting heart rate in a healthy individual usually indicates an increased level of aerobic fitness,” Palinski-Wade says. “Moderate exercise—working out at 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate—can be an effective way to increase cardiovascular fitness and therefore reduce resting heart rate.” But if you have any medical conditions, you should ask your doctor what a safe heart rate range would be to aim for during exercise.

aerobic exercise class
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Try aerobic exercise

Trying the absolute best anti-aging workout can also benefit your heart rate. “Interval training, such as HIIT (high-intensity interval training), is a highly effective way to elevate heart rate over a set period of time, and therefore can quickly increase cardiovascular fitness,” Palinski-Wade says. Ironically, boosting your heart rate while exercising actually lowers your resting heart rate. And in general, “aerobic or cardiovascular exercise which elevates heart rate has been found to be the most effective form of exercise to lower resting heart rate,” she says. But if you find this type of workout too intense, search out another fun activity that gets your heart pumping. “Any form of exercise where you boost heart rate, whether that be jogging, dancing, or brisk walking, will boost cardiovascular fitness if done regularly, lowering resting heart rate over time,” Palinski-Wade says.

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Lose weight

One of the factors that can predict your risk of heart problems is your body mass index (BMI)—a number that combines your weight and height. So it’s not surprising that losing weight, which also goes along with exercising, can impact your heart rate. The larger the body, the more the heart must work to supply it with blood. “If overweight, moderate weight loss may help to reduce resting heart rate,” Palinski-Wade says. Research from the University of Utah published in Heart Rhythm showed that weight loss in obese patients led to a notable decrease in resting heart rate.

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Get a fitness tracker

Fitness trackers are a great way to track your heart rate. According to a Stanford University study in the Journal of Personalized Medicine, most fitness trackers the researchers tested measured heart rate within five percent. “A fitness tracker that monitors heart rate can help you to see both your resting heart rate as well as your heart rate during exercise,” Palinski-Wade says. “By tracking heart rate during exercise, you can ensure you are increasing your exertion level to elevate heart rate into the ideal range to boost fitness. You can also use trackers to help prevent over-exerting yourself.”

foods rich in potassium
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Get your potassium

One of the signs you’re not getting enough potassium is an abnormal heart rate, so eat enough of the nutrient to maintain a healthy heart rate instead. “A low potassium level may trigger a rapid heartbeat, so consuming potassium-rich foods on a regular basis may help to regulate heart rate levels,” Palinski-Wade says. “Since the majority of Americans fall short of consuming the recommended amount of potassium each day, focusing on adding potassium-rich foods to the diet—instead of taking a supplement—may be an effective way to reduce resting heart rate.” This doesn’t just mean bananas: Dark green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, and avocado all contain potassium.

salmon
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Eat a fishy diet

Wondering how to have your most heart-healthy day? Try eating some omega-3 fatty acids, found in salmon and other fish. Although research has been mixed on the effects of omega-3s on heart health, studies have shown the nutrient to be effective in lowering heart rate. “Aiming to include at least 2 servings—3 ounces per serving—of fatty fish per week may be another beneficial way to reduce resting heart rate,” Palinski-Wade says.

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Reduce stress

One of the telltale signs you’re more stressed than you realize may be a fast heart rate. Everyone has had that feeling of your heart pounding after a nerve-wracking event—that’s our body ramping up adrenaline in preparation for “fight or flight.” But chronic stress means the body stays in this state for long periods of time, and this can take a toll on your ticker. Although it’s not totally clear how stress affects the heart, according to the American Heart Association, studies have shown a link between stress and increased heart rate. In the short-term, deep breathing, visualization, and other relaxation techniques can help bring down a temporarily elevated pulse. Over time, though, you’ll need to make changes to reduce the stress in your life or address anxiety or other mental health issues that are causing this stress response.

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Take up yoga or meditation

Some of the best ways to prevent stress and heart disease are the ancient practices of yoga and meditation. Yoga has been shown in research to reduce stress and improve cardiovascular function. “Although exercise such as yoga does not increase heart rate as much as aerobic exercise, the stress reduction benefits of this exercise may help to reduce resting heart rate over time,” Palinski-Wade says.

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Get a good night’s sleep

It’s true: You can sleep your way to better heart health. “When you sleep, your heart rate dips and your blood pressure decreases, which are important to heart health,” says sleep expert Richard Shane, PhD. “When you don’t get enough sleep, your heart may not have enough time to lower your blood pressure to necessary levels, leading to increased levels of high blood pressure.” According to the National Sleep Foundation, research shows that people who get less than six hours of sleep are at an increased risk of a heart attack. Get seven to nine hours of shut-eye to ensure your body lowers your heart rate for a sufficient amount of time. Here are some little changes you can make to get better sleep in just one day.

Sources
  • Kim Fox, MD, of the Royal Brompton Hospital in London
  • Heart: “Elevated resting heart rate, physical fitness and all-cause mortality: a 16-year follow-up in the Copenhagen Male Study”
  • Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, fitness expert and author of 2 Day Diabetes Diet
  • American Heart Association: “Target Heart Rates Chart”
  • Journal of Human Hypertension: “Effects of aerobic training intensity on resting, exercise and post-exercise blood pressure, heart rate and heart-rate variability”
  • Heart Rhythm: “Improved Heart Rate Recovery After Marked Weight Loss Induced by Gastric Bypass Surgery: 2 Year Follow Up in the Utah Obesity Study”
  • Journal of Personalized Medicine: “Accuracy in Wrist-Worn, Sensor-Based Measurements of Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure in a Diverse Cohort”
  • Circulation: “Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (Fish Oil) Supplementation and the Prevention of Clinical Cardiovascular Disease”
  • Frontiers in Physiology: “Reduction of heart rate by omega-3 fatty acids and the potential underlying mechanisms”
  • American Heart Association: “Stress and Heart Health”
  • Hypertension: “Effects of Work Stress on Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Heart Rate Variability”
  • International Journal of Yoga: “Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life”
  • Richard Shane, PhD, sleep expert
  • National Sleep Foundation: “How Sleep Deprivation Affects Your Heart”

Tina Donvito
Tina Donvito is a writer, editor, and blogger who writes about health and wellness, travel, lifestyle, parenting, and culture. Her work has been published online in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Parents, among others. Chosen by Riverhead Books and author Elizabeth Gilbert, her writing appears in the anthology Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It: Life Journeys Inspired by the Bestselling Memoir. Tina was previously editor-in-chief of TWIST magazine, a celebrity news title for teen girls with an emphasis on health, body image, beauty, and fashion.