How Resting Heart Rate Changes Across Your Cycle

Resting heart rate can be higher in some weeks and lower in others without an obvious reason. The menstrual cycle may account for part of that variation: RHR often follows a hormonally driven pattern across the cycle.

The useful comparison is not a single reading, but the pattern across your own cycle.

The basic pattern

Across the menstrual cycle, resting heart rate generally follows this pattern:

Follicular phase (period through ovulation)

• RHR is usually at its lowest
• Typical range: your personal baseline (e.g., 58–62 bpm)
• The parasympathetic nervous system is dominant
• Estrogen promotes vasodilation and lower vascular resistance

Around ovulation

• RHR may increase slightly as the hormonal shift begins
• The transition is gradual, not sudden

Luteal phase (ovulation through next period)

• RHR rises by 2–5 bpm above follicular-phase levels
• The increase begins within 1–3 days of ovulation
• It peaks in the late luteal phase (days 24–28)
• Progesterone drives the shift toward sympathetic nervous system dominance

Menstruation

• RHR drops as progesterone falls
• By mid-period, it is typically near the follicular-phase baseline again

Why does this happen?

The main driver is progesterone. After ovulation, progesterone:

• Shifts autonomic balance toward the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) branch
• Raises core body temperature, which the cardiovascular system compensates for with a slightly faster heart rate
• Promotes vasodilation. The resulting slight drop in blood pressure prompts a compensatory increase in heart rate

Estrogen, dominant in the follicular phase, has the opposite cardiovascular profile. It increases parasympathetic tone, supports endothelial function, and contributes to the lower RHR seen in the first half of the cycle.

What the research shows

A 2019 study of wearable data from over 600,000 cycles found that resting heart rate was significantly higher in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase. The average difference across the study population was 1.8 bpm.

Individual variation is wider. Some people see a 1 bpm change, while others see 5–8 bpm. Your own repeated pattern matters more than the population average and may be useful as a cycle marker.

A separate study by Shilaih et al. (2017) found that wrist-worn devices could detect the follicular-to-luteal transition through heart rate changes with reasonable accuracy. This suggests that the metric can be useful for cycle tracking.

How to use RHR for cycle awareness

Confirming ovulation

A sustained RHR increase of 2+ bpm above your follicular baseline, beginning shortly after expected ovulation, can support other signs that ovulation occurred. It is less precise than a temperature shift, so it is best read alongside other data.

Predicting your period

Many people find that their RHR begins to drop 1–2 days before menstruation starts. This reflects the fall in progesterone and may signal that a period is approaching, sometimes before other physical symptoms appear.

Detecting unusual stress or illness

If your RHR is significantly higher than expected for your current cycle phase, something else may be going on:

• Illness or infection, because RHR rises with immune activation
• Accumulated stress, which can raise RHR beyond the normal cycle effect
• Poor sleep, since sleep deprivation increases baseline heart rate
• Overtraining or excessive exercise without enough recovery

Compare readings within the same phase. A luteal RHR of 68 bpm might be normal if your follicular baseline is 63. If your follicular RHR is usually 58 and is now 66, the change is worth noting.

Identifying anovulatory cycles

In cycles without ovulation (anovulatory cycles), the usual RHR rise may be absent or muted. Without progesterone from the corpus luteum, the sympathetic shift does not occur. A cycle with no discernible RHR increase is a clue, though not proof, that ovulation may not have occurred.

RHR vs. HRV: what's the difference?

Both metrics reflect the state of the autonomic nervous system, but they measure different things:

• RHR (resting heart rate) is the number of times your heart beats per minute at rest. A higher value corresponds with more sympathetic activity.
• HRV (heart rate variability) is the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats. A higher value corresponds with more parasympathetic activity.

Across the cycle, they move in opposite directions:

• Follicular phase: lower RHR, higher HRV (parasympathetic dominant)
• Luteal phase: higher RHR, lower HRV (sympathetic dominant)

Reading them together gives more context than either metric alone.

Tips for accurate tracking

• Measure consistently. Apple Watch records overnight RHR automatically, which reduces daytime noise from activity and stress.
• Look at trends rather than individual days. Daily RHR can swing by 3–5 bpm from noise alone, while multi-day averages make the cycle pattern easier to see.
• Track across multiple cycles. Your personal follicular and luteal baselines become clearer after 2–3 cycles.
• Note other influences. Alcohol, caffeine, illness, and poor sleep all affect RHR independently of cycle phase.

Reading your own pattern

Apple Watch captures resting heart rate automatically, and the metric often follows a hormonal pattern across the cycle. Once you know your usual range in each phase, RHR can add context when you are confirming ovulation, anticipating a period, or noticing an unusual change.

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References

1. Moran VH, et al. The relationship between heart rate variability and the menstrual cycle. Clinical Autonomic Research. 2000;10(1):37-42.
2. Leicht AS, et al. Heart rate variability and endogenous sex hormones during the menstrual cycle in young women. Experimental Physiology. 2003;88(3):441-446.
3. Sims ST, et al. Heart rate variability is related to menstrual cycle phase in healthy women. Autonomic Neuroscience. 2008;138(1-2):64-72.
4. Yildirir A, et al. Effects of menstrual cycle on cardiac autonomic innervation. Annals of Noninvasive Electrocardiology. 2002;7(1):60-63.
5. Mendelsohn ME, Karas RH. The protective effects of estrogen on the cardiovascular system. New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;340(23):1801-1811.
6. Bull JR, et al. Real-world menstrual cycle characteristics of more than 600,000 menstrual cycles. NPJ Digital Medicine. 2019;2:83.
7. Shilaih M, et al. Modern fertility awareness methods: wrist wearables capture the changes in temperature associated with the menstrual cycle. Bioscience Reports. 2018;38(6):BSR20171279.
8. Goodale BM, et al. Wearable sensors reveal menses-driven changes in physiology and enable prediction of the fertile window. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2019;21(4):e13404.
9. Brar TK, et al. Effect of different phases of menstrual cycle on heart rate variability. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2015;9(10):CC01-CC04.