If you’ve ever watched your dog tip-toe out of the room the second your holiday playlist starts blasting, it’s no coincidence: To them, “Santa Tell Me” might actually sound more like nails on a chalkboard.
According to new analysis from Fanatix, some of the most beloved Christmas songs are played at BPM levels that can spike stress in pets, especially dogs. To figure this out, Fanatix studied 90 of the most popular holiday tracks on Spotify’s “Christmas Hits” playlist, pulled each song’s tempo using Sortlee, and ranked them from highest to lowest BPM.
Why BPM specifically? Because previous research from the BBC shows that slow music (ideally 50-60 BPM) helps reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) in dogs. So fast, frantic holiday hits do, well, presumably, the opposite.
The Most Bothersome Christmas Songs for Pets
Based on BPM alone, these festive favorites may be stressing out your furry friends the most:
Rank
Title
Artist
1
“Last Christmas”
Wham!
206
2
“Merry Christmas Everyone”
Shakin’ Stevens
203
3
“Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)”
The Andrews Sisters
203
4
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
Andy Williams
202
5
“Santa Tell Me”
Ariana Grande
192
6
“Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24” (Instrumental)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
186
7
“Please Come Home for Christmas” (2012 Remaster)
Eagles
183
8
“Driving Home for Christmas”
Chris Rea
180
9
“What Christmas Means to Me”
John Legend, Stevie Wonder
170
10
“Holiday Road” (Spotify Singles Holiday)
Kesha
170
11
“We Wish You The Merriest”
Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Fred Waring
169
12
“Where Are You Christmas?”
Faith Hill
168
Yes, “Last Christmas” holds the title for most stressful!
Interestingly, none of these tracks above landed on FinanceBuzz’s recent analysis of what American adults consider the most annoying Christmas songs. Plus, the No. 1 most stressful song for pets, “Last Christmas,” actually made it onto the list of the most popular Christmas songs in the country.
So it might be a little difficult to create the perfect holiday playlist for both humans and pets to enjoy. That said, many other holiday songs are easier on the ears for pets.
Two people and a dog dressed in holiday gear | Buddhika Weerasinghe/GettyImages
Why Some Songs Are Worse Than Others
Dogs hear the world differently than we do; not just louder, but across a broader and higher frequency range. Humans and dogs hear speech at roughly the same sensitivity, but dogs are dramatically more sensitive to high-frequency sounds.
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This, of course, includes things like jingling bells, choral highs, and bright instrumental flourishes… basically the foundation of half of all Christmas music. Combine that with a super-fast tempo, and their nervous systems can shift into alert mode.
The Most Pet-Friendly Christmas Songs
On the other side of the spectrum, a few classics come surprisingly close to the slow, steady rhythm that helps calm pets. None land perfectly in the 50–60 BPM ideal range, but these are much gentler on canine ears:
Rank
Title
Artist
1
“Carol of the Bells” (From the Home Alone Soundtrack)
John Williams
47
2
“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”
Brenda Lee
67
3
“Do You Hear What I Hear?”
Bing Crosby
73
4
“The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)”
Nat King Cole
73
5
“Christmas Time Is Here” – Vocal
Vince Guaraldi
75
6
“Frosty The Snowman”
The Ronettes
77
7
“Sleigh Ride”
The Ronettes
77
8
“Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)”
Gene Autry
80
9
“The Prayer”
Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli
82
10
“O Holy Night” (Spotify Singles Holiday)
Ravyn Lenae
84
Consider adding these 10 to your queue as you celebrate the holiday season with your animals.
