Garmin HRV: what is a normal value?

Garmin does not compare your HRV with a normal range. It builds a baseline from about three weeks of sleep data and compares your 7-day average with that baseline. Enter last night's number and the range from Garmin Connect.

Garmin Connect: Health Stats, then HRV Status. The average below the graph is the number for last night.
The range under the graph is your baseline. It takes about three weeks of wearing the watch overnight to appear.

Still needed:

  • Nightly HRV
  • Baseline low
  • Baseline high

Enter your numbers to compare the night with your own baseline. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

Is an HRV of 24 to 45 normal?

Only if 24 to 45 is your own baseline. Garmin compares you with you, not with other people, so a range from an article or a friend says nothing about your recovery. If the range above is the one Garmin shows you, then any night inside it is normal for you.

This is also why there is no single number to look up. Two people of the same age can have baselines that differ by a factor of two, and both are healthy.

How age changes it

HRV usually falls with age, and Garmin's Poor status is measured against age-based standards. That is still not a table you can look yourself up in: your own baseline moves with training, sleep and stress, and Garmin recalculates it over time.

What makes a reading trustworthy

  • Wear the watch overnight, snug on the wrist. A loose fit adds noise.
  • Keep sleep times consistent; the baseline follows your normal nights.
  • Do not compare a night after alcohol with a normal night.
  • The first three weeks only build the baseline. There is no status before that.
  • Look at the 7-day average, not at a single night.

Questions that come up

My HRV is 24. Is that low?

Only your baseline can answer that. 24 can be normal for one person and clearly low for another. Compare it with the range in Garmin Connect, not with a number from a search result.

Why did my HRV drop after a hard run?

A hard session keeps the body in a stressed state overnight. A single drop after training is expected; what matters is whether the 7-day average recovers.

Does a low HRV mean I am sick?

No. It is one signal among several. Look at sleep, resting heart rate and how you feel. If HRV stays low for more than a week without an obvious reason, talk to a doctor.

Can I train when my HRV is below the baseline?

This page will not decide that for you. An easy session is usually fine; a hard session is worth moving if the low reading comes with poor sleep, a high resting heart rate or feeling unwell.

Source: Garmin HRV Status. Balanced means the 7-day average is inside your personal baseline; Unbalanced means it is above or below it; Low means well below. The baseline needs about three weeks and shifts over time. This page is not medical advice or a diagnosis.