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HRV Normal Range by Age: What's Actually Healthy?

Short answer: there isn't one normal range. HRV varies more between individuals than almost any other common health metric: genetics, fitness level, body composition, and measurement method all shift the number as much as age does. Published reference ranges exist, but they're broad enough that they're more useful as context than as a target.

Why age matters, generally

HRV tends to decline with age, on average, as the autonomic nervous system's responsiveness gradually decreases, a pattern seen consistently across studies even though the absolute numbers vary widely between them. A very fit 50-year-old will often have a higher HRV than an unfit 25-year-old. Age is one input, not a ceiling.

Rough illustrative ranges (read the caveats first)

Take these as illustrative, not diagnostic: they combine loosely across published studies that each used different devices, populations, and measurement windows, which is exactly why the ranges below are wide:

• Teens–20s: often roughly 55–105 ms (RMSSD), skewing toward the higher end
• 30s–40s: often roughly 40–95 ms
• 50s–60s: often roughly 25–70 ms
• 70s+: often roughly 20–55 ms

If your own number sits outside these bands, that alone isn't a red flag: device, measurement time, and individual variation explain most of the spread. See how to measure HRV for why a chest strap, a wrist wearable, and a phone app can each report meaningfully different numbers for the same person on the same morning.

Why your own trend beats any published range

Because measurement method and individual biology swing the number so much, the most useful comparison isn't you against a population average, it's you against yourself last week. A rising or falling trend on the same device, measured the same way, tells you far more than where you land on a generic chart.

Related: how to increase HRV, why is your HRV low?, how to measure HRV.