Respiratory Rate (RR)
breaths per minute
The number of breaths taken per minute. Elevated rates relative to baseline can indicate exercise, physiological stress, illness or inadequate recovery.
Typical optimal range 12 br/min - 18 br/min
Population median 15 br/min
Key factors
- Stress and anxiety
- Respiratory illness or nasal congestion
- High-intensity physical exertion
What affects this metric
- Pregnancy and higher body weight can raise resting respiration rate.
- Respiratory rate rises with fever, infection, and respiratory illness.
- Alcohol and sedatives alter the depth and rate or respiration during sleep.
- Altitude raises repiration rate until the body adapts.
- Exercise and stress raise it acutely.
References
Peer-reviewed sources supporting the key factors, contributing factors, and typical optimal range shown above.
- Cretikos MA, Bellomo R, Hillman K, Chen J, Finfer S, Flabouris A. Respiratory rate: the neglected vital sign. Medical Journal of Australia. 2008;188(11):657–659. doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01825.x
- Natarajan A, Su HW, Heneghan C. Measurement of respiratory rate using wearable devices and applications to COVID-19 detection. npj Digital Medicine. 2021;4:136. doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00493-6
- Luks AM, Swenson ER. Pulse oximetry at high altitude. High Altitude Medicine & Biology. 2011;12(2):109–119. doi.org/10.1089/ham.2011.0013
- Ebrahim IO, Shapiro CM, Williams AJ, Fenwick PB. Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2013;37(4):539–549. doi.org/10.1111/acer.12006
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your clinician about your own results.