What Is a Good HRV? Average HRV Ranges by Age for Adults

Heart rate variability is a highly individualized metric that reflects how well your body balances stress and recovery. We break down what HRV means, average ranges by age, and why your personal baseline matters more than any single number.

What is heart rate variability (HRV)?

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of the variation in time between each of your heartbeats. This variation is controlled by a part of your nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). HRV provides a non-invasive way to understand how your body is balancing stress and recovery.

It is measured in milliseconds (ms). A higher HRV generally indicates a healthy, well-recovered body ready to take on strain. A lower HRV can indicate that your body is working harder due to factors like fatigue, stress, dehydration, or illness.

Why a "good" HRV is your personal baseline

Heart rate variability is a measure of your autonomic nervous system that can be extremely useful for evaluating your physical fitness and determining how ready your body is to perform. Higher heart rate variability is generally a sign of better fitness.

The most important thing to know is that HRV is an incredibly personalized metric that differs greatly from one individual to the next. When attempting to figure out what is a good heart rate variability for you, factors such as age, gender, fitness level, lifestyle, environment, and genetics must be taken into account.

Average heart rate variability chart by age

Younger people typically have higher HRV than older people, and males may have slightly higher HRV than females. Elite athletes, particularly endurance athletes, tend to have greater heart rate variability than non-athletes. However, what represents a healthy HRV varies for everybody.

Many exceptionally fit people have heart rate variability that is lower than the norm. Below is a graphic that shows the average range of heart rate variability by age, from 20-65.

HRV declines as people get older. The middle 50% of 20-25 year olds usually fall in the 55-105 range, while 60-65 year olds are normally between 25-45.

How to interpret your HRV trends

The average heart rate variability for all WHOOP members is 65 for men and 62 for women. For 25-year-olds it's 78, for 35-year-olds it's 60, for 45-year-olds it's 48, and for 55-year-olds it's 44. People using WHOOP tend to be athletes and health-conscious individuals looking to perform better at whatever they do.

If your HRV falls in line with the WHOOP averages, it's reasonable to consider it "good." However, rather than comparing yourself to others, it's more practical to follow your own HRV trends.

If you're making efforts to better your overall health and fitness, over time you should see your heart rate variability begin to rise. On the other hand, a downward trend in HRV can be a sign that you're overtraining or engaging in other unhealthy behaviors, like poor nutrition or insufficient sleep.

How WHOOP helps you understand and improve your HRV

HRV is a highly sensitive metric that fluctuates throughout the day, making real-time tracking unreliable. Rather than measuring HRV continuously, WHOOP calculates it during your deepest sleep each night—when your body is in its most stable state. This ensures a precise, controlled baseline so you can monitor trends over time.

In the WHOOP app, you can see your HRV in daily, weekly, and monthly trend views, helping you understand how factors like sleep, training, and recovery impact it. HRV is a core part of your daily WHOOP Recovery score, which acts as a readiness indicator, guiding how hard to push your body. WHOOP also quantifies the strain you take on each day and provides personalized workout recommendations to help improve HRV over time.

In a four month study with collegiate athletes on WHOOP, they saw their HRV increase by an average of 8.3 milliseconds.

Frequently asked questions about HRV

What should my HRV be for my age?

While the chart in this article provides a general range for different age groups, the most useful comparison is to your own personal baseline. A "good" HRV for you is one that is stable or trending upward over time. Focus on your individual trends rather than comparing your daily number to population averages.

Is a low HRV number unhealthy?

A single low HRV reading is not necessarily a cause for alarm, as your HRV naturally fluctuates from day to day. It is more important to monitor your long-term trend. A sustained downward trend can be a sign that your body is under increased stress from factors like overtraining, illness, or poor sleep, giving you an opportunity to make positive lifestyle adjustments.

What factors can cause my HRV to drop?

Many factors can lead to a lower HRV. Common ones include intense exercise, dehydration, drinking alcohol, eating late at night, illness, psychological stress, and inconsistent sleep schedules. Using the WHOOP Journal can help you identify how specific behaviors affect your personal HRV and overall recovery.

This feature is for wellness purposes only and not for medical use.