WHOOP Member Averages for Recovery, Strain, and Sleep

We take a look at aggregate data averages across all the metrics we track, including HRV, recovery, strain, sleep, resting heart rate, respiratory rate and many more.

Curious how you stack up compared to the rest of the WHOOP population? We explore what's typical for all aspects of your data, from average sleep HRV to recovery norms by day of the week. Understanding these benchmarks can provide useful context, but remember that your personal trends over time are what matter most for optimizing your health and performance.

What is heart rate variability (HRV)?

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the measurement of the variation in time between each of your heartbeats. This variation is controlled by your autonomic nervous system (ANS), and a higher HRV is generally a sign of good health and fitness. Unlike heart rate, which counts the number of beats per minute, HRV measures the inconsistency between those beats, offering a deeper look at your body's readiness to perform.

What HRV reveals about your readiness

Your HRV provides a window into how your body is balancing stress and recovery through its two main branches:

• Parasympathetic (rest-and-digest): When this branch is dominant, your HRV is typically higher, signaling you are recovered and ready for strain.
• Sympathetic (fight-or-flight): When this branch is active due to stress, illness, or fatigue, your HRV is typically lower.

By monitoring your HRV during sleep, WHOOP gives you a clear indication of your body's readiness for the day ahead.

Heart rate variability averages on WHOOP

A major contributor to your daily recovery is heart rate variability (HRV). The average HRV for WHOOP members is 65 ms for men and 62 ms for women, but it is a metric that fluctuates significantly. Below you can see ranges for the middle 50% of people based on age (HRV usually declines as you get older):

A normal HRV chart by age and gender displaying the middle 50% range of all WHOOP members.Resting heart rate averages

Resting heart rate (RHR) is also factored into recovery. WHOOP members' average RHR is 55.2 bpm for men and 58.8 bpm for women, which increases slightly with age (females' RHR is a bit higher than males'):

Respiratory rate averages

And finally, the last metric we use to calculate recovery (other than sleep, more on that to come) is respiratory rate, your median breaths per minute (RPM) while sleeping. For most WHOOP members this is between 13 and 18:

The distribution of all respiratory rates recorded in a 1-week span.

Average daily Recovery

Starting with the basics, the average daily recovery for WHOOP members is 58%. That number dips gradually as the week progresses, with the highest average recoveries for WHOOP members in 2021 occurring on Tuesdays. Females generally have slightly higher recoveries than males do (about 1%), and even more so on weekends (roughly 2%):

How daily Strain impacts next-day Recovery

It's also worth noting the impact of strain on next-day recovery. The graphic that follows shows the decrease in average daily recovery in relation to increased strain the day before.

Average daily Strain by age

The average day strain for WHOOP members is about 11.0 on our 0-21 scale. For the most part, older people take on less strain than younger people:

Average Strain for popular activities

Below are the 10 activities most frequently logged in the WHOOP app, and the average strain accrued for each (duration is not factored in, which is why something like golf, which people often play for several hours, may be higher than expected):

Average strain for the 10 most popular activities on WHOOP

To better account for exercise intensity, here are the average strains for 1 hour of each of the same 10 activities (keep in mind workouts like running and cycling people regularly do continuously for an entire hour, but with weightlifting and functional fitness they usually take breaks):

The average WHOOP strain for 1 hour of popular forms of exercise.Average sleep duration and timing

WHOOP members average 8:02 in bed each night, and sleep for 7:11 of that time. This chart displays the distribution of bed and wake times:

How much time should you spend in each stage of sleep?

Here is a percentage breakdown of average time spent in the 4 stages of sleep:

REM sleep, in particular, tends to decrease with age:

Average Sleep Performance and sleep debt

The daily Sleep Performance metric you see in the app every morning represents the percentage of sleep you actually got in relation to your sleep need. Our members' typical Sleep Performance is 82%:

This results in an average nightly sleep debt of 43 minutes.

From averages to action: understanding your personal trends

While knowing the averages can provide useful context, the most important comparisons are with yourself. Your HRV is highly personal and can fluctuate daily based on your training, lifestyle, and sleep. Focusing on your own trends over time is the key to unlocking better performance and health.

Notice how behaviors logged in your Journal—like hydration, diet, or stress levels—impact your HRV and next-day Recovery. This personalized feedback loop is how you move from data to actionable insights.

Frequently asked questions about sleep HRV

What is a good HRV while sleeping?

A "good" sleep HRV is relative to your personal baseline. A sleep HRV that is in line with or higher than your recent average is generally a positive sign of readiness.

Why is my HRV low during sleep?

A lower-than-usual HRV during sleep can be caused by many factors, including high-intensity training, dehydration, consuming alcohol, late meals, illness, or high stress. A consistently low HRV may indicate chronic overtraining or an underlying health issue.

Is a very high HRV, like 200 ms, a good sign?

For some elite endurance athletes, an HRV of 200 ms or higher can be normal, but for most people, it is rare. The key is to focus on maintaining a healthy and stable HRV relative to your own baseline.