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Comment by jerlam | Hacker News Reader

> real resting heart rate in the 60s

What makes one measurement "real" and the other one "not real", if you're mainly using it as a personal metric?

The reason that the traditional definition of resting heart rate exists is people didn't have 24/7 heart rate monitors, and doctors had to measure what they are able to measure. And they still can't measure it well, because patients often have white coat syndrome and there's not enough time during an appointment for people to relax fully.

The Apple Watch, which uses the traditional definition, has to use algorithms to guess which of its measurements counts as "resting" or not, which adds complexity. In contrast, lowest HR during sleep is a more reliable and consistent measurement.

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What I mean is, you can be pretty unfit and still have a resting heart rate in the mid 30s when you are asleep. The same unfit person takes a resting heart rate just sitting in a chair doing nothing for a minute or two and it's probably not going to be anywhere near 30.

I've known people who have had resting hearts in the low 40s, but actual resting heart rate when awake is closer to 70!

I think Garmin uses resting heart rate when you are asleep as it makes it seem like you have a really low resting heart rate, where you might not. I think it's overly flattering.

Citation needed. I'm not aware of anyone who is unfit and has a sleeping heart rate in the mid 30s. Let's see some hard data on that.

Garmin watches calculate resting heart rate as the lowest 30 minute average.

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=F8YKCB4CJd5PG0DR9ICV3A

I think we're talking about two different things.

You're saying that some devices are measuring "resting heart rate" when it's not using the traditional definition, and comparing that number to the traditional definition is wrong, and I would agree.

I'm saying that the traditional measurement of resting heart rate is bad for a variety of reasons, one of which is that taking it while sitting at your couch at home after 15 minutes and having a stranger take it in the weird doctor's office can have very different results. And if our smart devices consistently measure an RHR on a regular basis, that's probably a better measurement of progress.

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