Track Your Resting Heart Rate Every Morning — Free on iPhone

Your morning resting heart rate is one of the most powerful wellness signals your body gives you each day. Here's how to track it consistently — in 60 seconds.

7 min read
Beginner-friendly
ESC 2021 sourced
LIVE · 14 / 60s
9:41● ● ●
Measurement complete
Your HRV today.
68 ms
Heart-rate variability
Excellent
RMSSD
68 ms
+6% · parasympathetic
SDNN
91 ms
+3% · autonomic
7-day trend
↑ up 4%
What is HRV

The variation between heartbeats — your nervous system's report card.

RMSSD vs SDNN

Two metrics, one number. Why Pulse shows both — and which to watch.

TRIMP load

Training-impulse: your weekly training load, in one chart.

The protocol

4 steps. Sixty seconds. Done before your coffee.

  1. 01
    Morning

    Measure Before You Get Out of Bed

    Take your reading within 3 minutes of waking, while still lying down. This captures your true resting state before posture changes, caffeine, or morning activity affect your heart rate.

  2. 02
    60 sec

    Hold Your Finger Still for 60 Seconds

    Place your fingertip gently over the rear camera. Pulse Rate will illuminate it with the flash and capture a clean signal — even a small fidget can add 3–5 bpm of artifact.

  3. 03
    Read

    Note Your Lifestyle Factors

    Log notes on sleep quality, alcohol, stress, or a late meal alongside your reading. In 2–3 weeks, clear patterns will emerge showing what affects your resting heart rate.

  4. 04
    Daily

    Watch Your 30-Day Trend

    Resting HR changes slowly but meaningfully. A 5-bpm drop over 30 days of consistent aerobic exercise is a clear indicator your cardiovascular fitness is improving.

What you'll see in Pulse

Your progress, exactly how the app shows it.

The same chart that lives on your iPhone's Progress screen — rebuilt so you know what you're looking at.

Wellness Index trend
82 / 100 Excellent
Last 30 days
100 75 50 25
Excellent (80+) Borderline (40–60) Very low (0–40)
Excellent 80+

Outstanding score. Your key heart metrics are above normal.

Normal 60 – 80

Most healthy adults fall within this range.

Borderline 40 – 60

Not necessarily alarming — but worth monitoring.

Very Low 0 – 40

If this persists, please consult a healthcare professional.

Bonus · TRIMP

Training Impulse, decoded.

TRIMP = duration × intensity. A 60-minute easy run scores about 70 TRIMP. A 30-minute interval session scores 110. Pulse adds them up daily and tells you when your week is too light, just right, or about to overcook you.

80–140
Optimal weekly load
140–200
Stretch (watch HRV)
200+
Overreaching
More guides

Take your first reading.

You've already got the hardware — your iPhone. Pulse does the rest.

Free to download · Core tracking always free · iOS 15+

Download on the App Store