The honest answer: it depends on you. Heart-rate variability varies widely between people and declines with age, so there is no universal “good” number. What actually matters is how today compares to your baseline, and which way your trend is heading.
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
What is a good HRV?
There's no universal 'good' number. HRV (commonly measured as rMSSD in milliseconds) varies widely between individuals and declines with age, so a value that's high for one person can be low for another. What matters is your personal baseline and which direction your trend is moving — a value within your normal range is unremarkable; a sustained drop below it is the signal.
Does HRV decline with age?
On average, yes — HRV tends to fall gradually with age. That's another reason population 'good/bad' thresholds mislead: comparing yourself to a 25-year-old's average isn't useful if you're 50. Compare today's value to your own recent history instead.
How is HRV measured on the Oura Ring?
Oura measures overnight HRV as rMSSD in milliseconds while you sleep, which is more stable and comparable night-to-night than a spot daytime reading.
What lowers HRV?
Common short-term drivers include alcohol, late or large meals, intense training the day before, illness, stress, and poor or short sleep. Tracking which of these moves your HRV — in your own data — is more useful than a generic list.
How does Vitra interpret my HRV?
Vitra plots your overnight rMSSD against your personal rolling baseline, draws a normal-range band, and tells you in plain English whether today is normal, high, or low for you — locally, with no cloud.
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