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Resting Heart Rate "Cycles"?

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Similar to RRKPL's post in 2015, my resting heart rate appears to cycle very predictably between 53 and 58 bpm.  It's not random - it's like a near-perfect sine wave.  Since I'm male, it's not due to menstrual cycle as they talk about in medical literature.  Cycle appears to be several days long, maybe a week.  There's nothing I'm changing on my Fitbit use from day to day.  The only thing I can think of is that I catch up a little on sleep on weekends and sleep times start and end later on weekends (although difference is not dramatic).  Other than maybe sleep, what else might be causing this?

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Glad to see you here @ptnyc! Welcome to the Fitbit Community!

 

It's good to know that you're doing your research, this is the best place to ask that information. I'd like to clarify that our PurePulse heart rate tracking offers automatic, continuous wrist based tracking for all-day health insights and workout intensity. It is uniquely designed to measure heart rate all day, with always-on optical heart rate sensors. Smiley Happy

 

Your heart rate may be affected by any a number of factors at any given moment throughout the day. Movement, temperature, humidity, stress level, physical body position, caffeine intake, and medication use are just a few things that can affect your heart rate. Different medical conditions and medications can impact your heart rate that's why it's important to consult your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

 

According to the National Institute of Health, a normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats a minute. Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. Cat Surprised

 

For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 - 60  beats a minute. You can check your HR with an expert and let him know more details about your training though, since Fitbit trackers are not medical devices, they were created to support your training and motivate you towards your goals!

 

Hope this helps! Woman Very Happy

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I have tracked my resting rate over a year and when I remove longer term trends from the data, I find an interesting 20 day cycle. As with you, I am male--but married. I thought about pheromones as a source, but the cycle is too short. It looks so regular that I think it is a real phenomena. I'm puzzled and really interested in what could cause such a cycle.

 

In your case, a 7 day cycle could reflect your weekly activity. I know that I have a fairly regular weekly routine with more exercise on the weekends and regular Wednesday sports.

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Hi @dz1234, thanks for sharing your information with us! I think that you have some really good points! Not so sure about the pheromones as a source but I understand your point. I'd like to see you data, if you have the screenshot of the information you saw, it'd be great! Cat Happy

 

Good thing is that you have a good workout routine and Resting heart rate refers to the heart rate measured when you’re awake, calm, comfortable, and have not recently exerted yourself. Fitbit uses your heart rate data from when you’re awake and asleep to estimate your resting heart rate. We recommend to wear your device to sleep to have a better accuracy reading.

 

Your resting heart rate is usually higher than your heart rate while you are asleep, so don’t be surprised if your resting heart rate is higher than the lowest number that you see in your heart rate graphs.

 

I'll be around in case you have more information there.

 

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Presentation1.jpg

Here is my data. What it shows is the 3 day average divided by my 30 day average for resting pulse rate. I needed to divide out the 30 days to cancel out slower trends--the 3 days are for smoothing purposes, but you can see it in the raw data too. As you can see, the period is about 20 days. The range is from 44 to 54, but the majority of the time it ranges between 47 and 52. I did find an old paper from 1975 that measured men's testosterone cycles at about 20 days, perhaps that could cause it. I'm wondering if others see this too.

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Hi @dz1234, I hope you’re enjoying the forums! Cat Happy

 

Thank you for the screenshot and the details that you provided. I'd like to know if the range you mentioned from 44 to 54 is referred to the Fitness Score.  Also, I'm not sure if the screenshot you share is from the Fitbit App or from a Third Party App. Can you please confirm that? 

 

About the raw data you stated, where are you seeing that information?

 

In regards to that article about men's testosterone cycles, it sounds really interesting although currently Fitbit doesn't have a way to measure that data; since HR is measure by Pure Pulse Technology. 

 

I'll be waiting for your response.

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44 to 54 is the maximum range of my resting pulse, which was what we were discussing earlier.

 

As I mentioned in the previous message, the graph is a plot of my 5 day resting pulse divided by the 30 day average of resting pulse. I made the plot myself using excel, but the data comes from the fitbit app. Does it matter? The raw data that I stated is also from the fitbit app. 

 

I never suggested that Fitbit could or should measure testosterone levels. That would require taking blood. I was merely suggesting that it was interesting that the cycle of 20 days fits my cycle of 20 days for my resting pulse. I am wondering whether the underlying physiology could be related. I also wonder whether other people have seen something similar. I mostly posted here to see if others see the same thing. If others do check the forum, I would suggest plotting it out for themselves.

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 I have noticed that same trend. At first I thought it was because of changes in my diet. Then I thought it was rest. Then I thought it was caffeine. I also considered other factors. But after testing all of these for a long period of time, none of them made a difference.  My resting heart rate still plummets and then peaks somewhere between 51 and 58 bpm  and then repeats itself. Sometimes it’s every 12 days and sometimes it’s about 20 days. The cycle is almost reminiscent of biorhythms. Remember those? I wear my fit bit continuously so I’m fairly certain about the data.

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Hi @dz1234 and @claude203, it's always great to see you here in the Forums!

 

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention and for confirming those details @dz1234. About your comment mentioning underlying physiology, as mentioned before heart rate may be affected by any a number of factors for example: movement, temperature, humidity, stress level, physical body position too. Thanks for the clarification in regards to testosterone levels, I already passed this information to our team so they can be aware of it. 

 

@claude203 Thanks for adding your comment to this thread and for the time you've taken in order to confirm what data might be affecting your trend. We appreciate the time you took in order to research this! Our team will take a look of it!

 

Please, let's keep an eye on it to see future behaviors. I'll be around in case that you notice anything different in your HR cycles. Thanks a million for your patience!

 

I'll be around! Woman Happy

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Interesting to hear there are others. I wonder whether this is a common thing. Hard to imagine what would cause it.Timing just isn't right for moon cycles, wife's pheromones or weekly routines. 

 

Oh yes, I remember biorhythms. I had forgotten about them--funny.

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Thanks for sharing your comment @dz1234. Feel free to check more information about resting heart rate in our blog. Your opinion is always welcomed here. 

 

Thanks for sharing. 

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I see the same thing between 62 and 70. Also on 20 day cycle. I travel a lot and I thought stress related, but not sure about correlation to trips. 

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Hi @Erict12 nice to see you here. Welcome! Smiley Happy

 

You have a really good point there, but stress is not the only thing that can affect your heart rate. Did you check the information in my previous post? As mentioned before this article about resting heart, it has really good information about it too. If you think that your Fitbit device is having issues getting the correct information about your HR, you can also check these wearing tips to help the accuracy of your HR readings.

 

If you need to restart your Fitbit, feel free to do so; and see if this helps.

 

I'll be around in case that you need more help. 

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I know it has been a long time since the original post, but I have been noticing this same cyclical pattern of my resting heart rate, like a sine wave graph, month after month. The cycles seem to be approximately monthly. From what others have said, men and women are both experiencing this so there must be scientific explanations. I am searching online but can’t find anything on this yet. What have you all found?

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I haven’t found much—just an article about a cycle for testosterone in men from the 70’s that matched the timing. I have continued to track it and my oscillations are not as big as they used to be, but are still noticeable and roughly 20-22 days.

Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks! I’m also monthly a member of the resting heart rate cycle club. 

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I’ve also found that my heart rate cycles at a rate a bit shorter than a month.

 

IMG_1782.jpg

 

In the summer my heart rate is higher on average (I assume for heat loss), but ~monthly cycling is maintained. After the summer months my relatively consistent fitness routine got messed up that year with travel, but the cycling still seems to be present.

 

Before these monitors resting heart rate would have been brief snapshots of data when visiting a doctor or sports med trainer, not continuous measurements 24/7 over a year. So this heart rate cycling might actually be a newly discovered phenomenon (assuming it hasn’t yet been published) only having been identified due to devices like fitbit and other sports bands that generate long term, continuous data.

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I cycle too between 47-55 ish and believe it is hormonal.  Seems to be . Thanks for sharing.  It's nice to know it's fairly typical in both sexes to have a cyclical range!  Yay, I'm normal...well...that statement might be a stretch!?

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I get the same thing, my resting heart rate cyclicals between 54-67, somewhat regular, about 18-21 day cyclical.

 

No idea why, but I am 68, on testosterone, a long acting ester that I inject every ~ 12-13 weeks.  So my testosterone peaks maybe 4 days after an injection then gradually falls.  Point being, the rise and fall is not the same as the resting heart rate change. 

 

Here is one thought.

 

When women get the same thing medical professionals tend to say it must be related to their menstrual cycle. But many men get the same cycle, this suggests it's NOT related to their  menstrual cycle.

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Similar discovery with myself, also a senior male. Average cycle time over 2 years of 26 days with peak to trough variation of about 6 bpm (62 to 68 bpm). Thought it might relate to time required to regenerate new blood cells

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