What is a good HRV?

HRV — usually measured as rMSSD in milliseconds — reflects the balance of your autonomic nervous system. Higher generally indicates a more recovered, parasympathetic state; lower can indicate stress, fatigue, or illness. But the absolute value is only meaningful in context.

Why a single number misleads

It's individual

Healthy adults can sit anywhere across a very wide rMSSD range. One person's 40 ms is another's 90 ms — both can be normal for them.

It declines with age

HRV tends to fall gradually over the years, so age-blind thresholds aren't useful.

It's noisy day-to-day

Sleep, alcohol, training, stress and illness all nudge it. A single night tells you little; the trend tells you a lot.

Context beats the value

'42 ms, a little below your usual 55' is informative. '42 ms' alone is not.

What to look at instead

Track your own baseline and trend. A value inside your personal normal range is unremarkable. A sustained drop below it — especially alongside poor sleep or a falling coefficient of variation — is the signal worth acting on. That's the approach Vitra takes: it never shows your HRV without your range and trend beside it.

This page is general education, not medical advice. If you have concerns about your heart-rate variability or health, talk to a clinician.

Frequently asked