You may have heard the old myth that we all have a limited number of heartbeats in a lifetime, so why should we “waste” them on exercise?
It turns out the opposite is true.
Australian research has found that fit people actually use fewer heartbeats per day than those who exercise very little or not at all. This could mean more years to enjoy life, not less.
Fit hearts beat less
The study, published in JACC: Advances, tracked heart rates of athletes versus non-athletes and found that athletes had a resting heart rate of 68 beats per minute (bpm), compared to 76bpm in the less active group. Over 24 hours, that adds up to a massive difference, about 11 500 fewer beats per day for those in shape.
Professor André La Gerche from the St Vincent’s Institute and Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, and lead author of the study, explains:
“Even though athletes’ hearts work harder during exercise, their lower resting rates more than make up for it. The result is a more efficient heart and fewer beats overall.”
Training for efficiency
Regular exercise strengthens the heart muscle and increases stroke volume, which measures the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat. This means the heart does not need to work as often to circulate oxygen and nutrients.
Some elite athletes even dip to 40bpm at rest. For many of us, seeing this on a smart watch might lead to questioning whether the watch still works.
Steps to a lower heart rate
The greatest news is that you do not have to be a Tour de France cyclist or ultra-fit to benefit. Simply increasing your fitness levels and transitioning from unfit to moderately fit could improve your heart health.
Even 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, which can include quick walking, skipping, cycling, or swimming, can lower your resting heart rate and boost long-term heart health. The World Health Organization supports this figure.
A lower resting heart rate is linked with reduced risk of heart disease and increased longevity. So next time someone warns you not to “waste” heartbeats by working out, you can point them to science.
Have you recently made changes to your fitness levels and overall health? We would love to hear about it in the comments!
