HRV Chart by Age: What's Normal for Your Heart Rate Variability?

If you have searched for a heart rate variability chart by age, you are probably trying to answer a simple question: is my HRV normal? That instinct makes sense. HRV is one of the most talked-about recovery and readiness metrics in fitness, and wearables now surface it daily. But raw numbers without context can mislead more than they inform. This guide walks through what population data actually shows, why age matters, and how to use that information without over-reacting to any single reading.

For a broader primer on what HRV is and how it connects to training decisions, see our full guide on what is HRV.

What is HRV and why does it decline with age?

HRV measures the variation in time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. It is primarily driven by the autonomic nervous system: the parasympathetic branch (rest and digest) increases variability, while the sympathetic branch (fight or flight) reduces it. Higher HRV relative to your baseline generally reflects better autonomic balance, cardiovascular fitness, and recovery capacity.

HRV declines with age for well-documented physiological reasons. Parasympathetic nervous system activity naturally decreases over the lifespan, cardiac tissue becomes less compliant, and arterial stiffness increases. Research published in the European Heart Journal and Circulation has consistently shown that RMSSD and other vagally mediated HRV metrics decrease roughly 1 to 3 percent per year after the mid-20s. This is normal and does not by itself indicate poor health.

That said, the rate of decline is influenced by modifiable factors. People who maintain consistent aerobic exercise, healthy sleep habits, and manageable stress levels tend to preserve higher HRV into later decades compared to sedentary peers of the same age.

What are normal HRV ranges by age?

The table below shows approximate RMSSD ranges from population-level studies and aggregated wearable data. RMSSD (root mean square of successive differences) is the most commonly reported HRV metric on consumer devices. Keep in mind that values will differ depending on whether they are measured overnight, upon waking, or during a seated reading, and which device is used.

Sources for these ranges include aggregated data from Whoop, Oura, and Garmin user populations, as well as clinical studies using ECG-derived RMSSD values. Wrist-based optical sensors tend to produce slightly different absolute values than chest-strap or ECG measurements, so the exact numbers on your device may not match clinical reference data. The directional pattern, a steady decline with age and wide individual variation, is consistent across sources.

Is my HRV good for my age?

This is the most common question people ask after seeing the chart, and the honest answer is: the chart alone cannot tell you. Two people of the same age, sex, and fitness level can have RMSSD values that differ by 30 to 40 ms. Genetics, resting heart rate, body composition, and even time of measurement all contribute to individual baselines.

What matters more than where you fall on a population chart is the direction and stability of your personal trend. If your 30-day rolling HRV average is gradually rising or holding steady, that is a good sign regardless of whether the absolute number is above or below the table average for your age. Conversely, a multi-week decline in HRV, especially when paired with elevated resting heart rate, poor sleep, and fatigue, suggests that recovery is falling behind training stress.

If you are noticing a pattern of declining readiness metrics, review the common signs of overtraining and consider adjusting your training load before the deficit deepens.

What factors affect HRV besides age?

Age explains part of the variance in HRV, but many other factors have a meaningful day-to-day and long-term impact:

• Aerobic fitness: Cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest modifiable predictors of HRV. People who train consistently in Zone 2 and include regular aerobic work tend to have higher baselines than sedentary peers of the same age.
• Sleep quality and duration: Poor or short sleep is one of the most reliable ways to suppress HRV the following day. Research consistently links sleep quality to workout performance and recovery metrics.
• Chronic and acute stress: Psychological stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, lowering HRV. Chronic stress can suppress baselines over weeks.
• Alcohol: Even moderate alcohol intake measurably reduces overnight HRV. This effect can persist for 24 to 48 hours depending on the amount consumed.
• Medications: Beta-blockers, stimulants, and some other medications directly affect heart rate dynamics and HRV. If you take medication that influences heart rate, interpret HRV trends with that context in mind.
• Hydration and nutrition: Dehydration and under-fueling can both reduce HRV, particularly around training days.
• Body composition: Higher body fat percentage has been associated with lower HRV in several population studies, independent of age.

How can you improve your HRV?

HRV responds to the same habits that improve overall cardiovascular health and recovery. There are no shortcuts, but consistent changes tend to produce measurable results within 4 to 12 weeks:

• Build an aerobic base: Accumulate 150 to 200 minutes per week of Zone 2 cardiovascular work. This is the single most effective training lever for improving parasympathetic tone.
• Prioritize sleep: Aim for 7.5 to 9 hours with consistent bed and wake times. Sleep regularity often matters as much as total duration.
• Manage training load: Alternate hard and easy days. Use a tool like the recovery calculator to check readiness before scheduling high-intensity work.
• Reduce alcohol: Even cutting from moderate to occasional consumption can produce a visible uptick in overnight HRV within a few weeks.
• Practice deliberate recovery: Structured recovery protocols including rest days, deload weeks, and active recovery sessions protect long-term HRV trends.
• Manage stress: Breathing exercises, time in nature, and reducing unnecessary stressors all have evidence supporting improved HRV over time.

Expect gradual progress. HRV baselines shift slowly because they reflect deep autonomic and cardiovascular adaptations. A 5 to 15 percent improvement in your rolling average over a 3-month training block is a meaningful and realistic outcome for most people.

How should you track and interpret your HRV?

The way you measure and interpret HRV matters as much as the number itself. A few principles to follow:

1. Use the same device and method consistently. Switching between a wrist sensor and a chest strap, or between morning spot checks and overnight averages, makes trend data unreliable.
2. Focus on 7-day and 30-day rolling averages. Single-day HRV readings carry a lot of noise. The signal lives in multi-day and multi-week trends.
3. Pair HRV with other metrics. HRV alone is not a complete picture. Look at it alongside resting heart rate, sleep data, subjective fatigue, and training load. Cora tracks these signals from your wearable data and surfaces trends so you do not have to cross-reference manually.
4. Do not chase a number. The goal is not to maximize HRV. It is to maintain a stable, gradually improving baseline while training effectively. Obsessing over daily readings can add the very stress that suppresses HRV.
5. Context matters for low readings. A single low HRV day after a hard interval session or a poor night of sleep is expected. It only becomes actionable when the pattern persists for 3 or more days, especially if other recovery markers are also trending poorly.

For a structured approach to deciding when to push and when to back off, the recovery calculator combines HRV with sleep and resting heart rate into a single readiness check.