When do most of you check your resting heart rate?

Two nights in a row I went to bed wearing my Polar 720i. I turned off the bike function and hit the red button twice. The heart rate worked for about 3'45" and stopped. The first night my avg ht rate was 62 with 8 spikes of 75 to 85 bpm and a low of 50. The second night my avg was 55bpm with seven spikes of 75 to 85 and a low of 47. Does anyone know if the spikes are normal? What number would I use for my resting ht rate?

I did this the other night, and posted my results here.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=32199


When do most of you check your resting heart rate?

Two nights in a row I went to bed wearing my Polar 720i. I turned off the bike function and hit the red button twice. The heart rate worked for about 3'45" and stopped. The first night my avg ht rate was 62 with 8 spikes of 75 to 85 bpm and a low of 50. The second night my avg was 55bpm with seven spikes of 75 to 85 and a low of 47. Does anyone know if the spikes are normal? What number would I use for my resting ht rate?

my post doesn't really pertain to your thread, but I have experienced the benefits of cycling...or any cardio exercise.

I am born with an abnormally fast heart rate. Throughout my entire life, my reasting heart rate was over 80 bpm. I played basketball, soccer, and swam. However, none of the sports tickled my fancy until i started mt. biking. 2.5 yrs ago, my dad convinced me to buy a road bike, and I was infected with the cycling bug.

Four days ago, I measured my resting heart rate and to my surprise it was 69 bpm. Just now, I measured the heart rate and it was 72. I guess 2.5 yrs of hard work and dedication is starting to pay dividends.

I measured mine recently with my Suunto Advizor watch, which will measure as long as you want. My resting h/r was 48, with average of 52, spike of 75. I read somewhere a long time ago that h/r spikes while sleeping are natural and are caused by dreams, as they can make you excited/scared. That's where wet dreams and nightmares come in...