The Most Distracting Christmas Songs To Listen To While Driving

With the festive period well underway, new research has revealed the Christmas songs that can distract you while driving.

Research by Spotify suggests that songs between 50 and 80 beats per minute can boost creativity and productivity by inducing an “alpha state,” leading to a more focused and alert mindset.

With this research in mind, casino company casinorevisor.com examined the beats per minute of Spotify’s most popular Christmas songs to determine which ones exceed this threshold most significantly and are therefore the most distracting.

Last Christmas by global pop icon Ariana Grande takes the title of the most distracting Christmas song, with 205.95 beats per minute – and it’s not the only song by the artist in the ranking, with Santa Tell Me ranking seventh at 191.90 beats per minute.

Various Christmas classics are also identified as highly distracting, with The Happiest Christmas Tree by Nat King Cole, Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens, and Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters having beats per minute of 205.88, 202.90, and 202.48.

Despite not making the top ten, several of Mariah Carey’s festive hits exceed the ‘alpha state’ threshold, including O Holy Night at 173.98 beats per minute and the seasonal staple All I Want for Christmas Is You at 150.27.

Rank	Track	Artist	BPM
1	Last Christmas	Ariana Grande	205.95
2	The Happiest Christmas Tree	Nat King Cole	205.88
3	Merry Christmas Everyone	Shakin’ Stevens	202.90
4	Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)	Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters	202.48
5	Hang Your Lights	Jamie Cullum	202.06
6	It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year	Andy Williams	201.63
7	Santa Tell Me	Ariana Grande	191.90
8	Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24 - Instrumental	Trans-Siberian Orchestra	186.41
9	Caroling, Caroling	Nat King Cole	185.32
10	Christmas Dream	Perry Como	184.36

In addition to discovering most distracting Christmas songs, the research also unveiled the best tunes to enhance focus.

2000 Miles by The Pretenders is the best Christmas song for productivity, with 66.21 beats per minute, followed by Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree at 67.20.

Interestingly, despite one of Bing Crosby’s Christmas tunes being labelled as distracting, his 1950 track Silver Bells with Carol Richards can boost productivity with 70.94 beats per minute.

Rank	Track	Artist	BPM
1	2000 Miles	The Pretenders	66.21
2	Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree	Brenda Lee	67.20
3	Silver Bells	Bing Crosby, Carol Richards	70.94
4	A Holly Jolly Christmas	Brett Eldredge	71.96
5	O Christmas Tree	Tony Bennett	74.27
6	Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season	Andy Williams	74.35
7	Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas	Sam Smith	75.25
8	Christmas Time Is Here	Vince Guaraldi Trio	75.27
9	Frosty The Snowman	Ella Fitzgerald	76.82
10	Make It To Christmas	Alessia Cara	77.07

A spokesperson from casinorevisor.com has commented on the findings:
“While Christmas music is a great way to get into the festive spirit, it’s useful to examine which songs may actually be distracting, perhaps for drivers listening to the radio or office workers trying to get through day-to-day tasks.

“Those who cannot risk losing their focus over the Christmas period can, fortunately, choose to listen to the songs with slower tempos instead, including the classic Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, ensuring that you can still feel the festive cheer.”