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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 | BPM |
|---|---|---|---|
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.
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 | BPM |
|---|---|---|---|
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.