Re: What is the minimum heart rate a concious human can have?

Dear Riley,

Thanks for your interesting question. A normal resting heart rate for a human is about 60-80 beats per minute (bpm), so how low can we go? It's actually quite difficult to find accurate and reliable information on this topic, as there are many claims but few controlled studies.

According to several sources that I located [1,2], the lowest recorded human heart rate under normal conditions was 28 bpm, in a Spanish cyclist named Miguel Indurain. Lower than average resting heart rates are often seen in endurance athletes such as cyclists and long-distance runners and their hearts are also more efficient, meaning they move larger volumes of blood per beat.

There are numerous reports of Indian yogi masters, who practice yoga philosophy and meditation, being able to exert incredible control over their autonomic nervous systems, slowing their heart rate to a few bpm or even being able to stop the heart altogether for short periods. It's hard to say how many of these reports are substantiated - try "yogi heart rate" as a Google query and you'll find plenty to read and make up your own mind.

I have also read reports about freediving, a fascinating but incredibly dangerous sport in which people dive to incredible depths of over 100 meters without breathing apparatus. Under these conditions, humans experience what is named the "diving reflex", similar to that seen in diving mammals such as whales and seals, where the heart and breathing rates slow dramatically. One of the champion freedivers, Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras, is also a yogic practitioner and can reportedly slow his heart rate to 5-10 bpm [3,4] and hold a breath for 10 minutes.

Hope this answers your question,
Neil