For a healthy person, a normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. However, according to Dr Sudhir Kumar, a neurologist at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, many healthy and physically active individuals have a resting heart rate (RHR) between 40 and 60 bpm (beats per minute).
Now, your age and general health can also affect the pulse rate, and it varies from person to person. But if you want to achieve optimum health, Dr Kumar believes your resting heart rate should be 40 bpm.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post shared on June 20, the neurologist revealed that he lowered his resting heart rate from the 70s to the 40sand explained why doing so matters.
How to lower your resting heart rate to 40 bpm?
According to the neurologist, his resting heart rate used to be in the 70s and is now consistently in the low-to-mid 40s. He confessed that to achieve this, he did not take any special supplements, and there are no hacks either. Rather, the ‘secret’ is just 5.5 years of consistent lifestyle changes. Here’s what he did:
- Regular aerobic exercise (walking, running, cycling, swimming)
- Weight loss if overweight or obese
- Better sleep
- Smoking cessation
- Stress reduction (Yoga, meditation, breathing exercises)
- Abstaining from alcohol
- Managing medical conditions such as hypertension and sleep apnea
To achieve this goal, the biggest factor was running. “For the first two years, I averaged 10 to 15 km/day. Over the last few years, I have averaged six to eight km/day. Regular aerobic exercise trains the heart to pump more blood with each beat, so it doesn’t need to beat as often at rest,” Dr Kumar confessed.
Additionally, weight loss also played a major role, as the neurologist went from 100 kg to 71 kg, losing almost 29 kg. According to him, excess body weight increases cardiac workload and sympathetic nervous system activity. Meanwhile, losing weight often leads to a lower resting heart rate.
Moreover, sleep became an important factor, too. Earlier, the neurologist used to sleep five to six hours/night. Now, I sleep seven to eight hours/night. He elaborated, “Poor sleep is associated with higher sympathetic (fight-or-flight) activity and a higher resting heart rate. Better sleep allows the body to recover and the autonomic nervous system to rebalance.”
Why does a lower resting heart rate matter?
According to the neurologist, resting heart rate is often a marker of better cardiovascular fitness and autonomic balance. Therefore, a lower resting heart rate generally reflects a more efficient heart that can pump more blood with fewer beats.
He further explained, “Multiple large studies have shown a dose-response relationship: As resting heart rate rises, the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart failure, stroke, and premature death also tends to increase. In general, lower resting heart rates are associated with better long-term outcomes.”
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
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