This content is brought to you in partnership with OrthoCarolina, one of the nation’s leading orthopedic practices with offices across the Southeast.

With today’s fitness technology, we have direct access to view our heart rate at any point — but have you ever wondered what that number actually means?

Sean Brown, PT, DPT with OrthoCarolina sat down with us to explain the importance of understanding our resting heart rate. Let’s jump right in!

Breaking Down Your Heart Rate

We all know that our heart beats faster when we exercise and slower when we are winding down. But why?

Your heart beats to deliver oxygen-rich blood to your tissues and then pull oxygen-poor blood away from your tissues. 

When the work requirement of the heart increases (i.e. during exercise), the heart rate increases to handle this higher demand for oxygen delivery. 

A person’s resting heart rate is the number of times their heartbeats per minute when they are at rest. (Sounds simple, right?)

What Causes Your Heart Rate to Increase?

Besides exercise [read more about what you need to know about your heart rate during exercise here], a variety of factors contribute to increased heart rate.

Things like:

• Caffeine 
• Dehydration
• Certain medications
• Illness and injury
• Stress and/or anxiety

Nothing quite like checking your heart rate when you’re about to make a big speech or when you’re about to run a challenging race… and realizing you are freaking out a bit. Your heart works a little bit harder to regulate your body in those stressful moments.

Monitoring Your Resting Heart Rate

The best time to check in on your resting heart rate is when you are winding down at the end of the day. Since every day is never the same, Sean recommends using your fitness tracker to monitor your resting heart rate each day to get an average.

Resting Heart Rate and Exercise Considerations

So, what does all of this mean? What happens if our resting heart rate is higher than usual?

Sean states, “An elevated resting heart rate may indicate that your body is in a period of stress, either from training, illness, or injury.” He continues, “When your heart rate is elevated, an additional recovery day [versus another challenging workout] may be better for the athlete to help avoid burnout or injury.”

We do love rest days here at Work For Your Beer.

In all seriousness, if you are monitoring your heart rate and something seems off, take care of yourself. Give your body a little bit of R&R. Visit a doctor if things are not returning to normal.

Learn More from the Team at OrthoCarolina

​Whether you’ve recently experienced an injury, need help with recovery after tough workouts, or are simply experiencing chronic pain and need help managing it, OrthoCarolina can help. Make an appointment at a location near you to start getting the treatment you need.