What Christmas hits are top of heart-beat charts?
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year to let your hair down and make merry ... and nothing makes you feel better than dancing in the comfort of your own home.
You can throw the craziest shapes, wear your daftest outfits and there’s no-one – apart from your nearest and dearest – to judge you.
What’s more, dancing is good for you as it sets your heart pumping and works muscles that you didn’t know you had.
Everyone has their favourite festive song to sing along to. whether it be Slade’s chart-topping Merry Christmas Everyone or Wham’s Last Christmas.
But which is the one that gets is most likely to get you rockin’ around the Christmas tree?
Using heart rate tracking equipment, a new study by Wrens Kitchens found out how listeners’ heart rates reacted when they were played top festive hits.
Combining the heart rate tracking data of all users in the experiment, the average heart rate was 62.9 beats per minute).
However, when the song I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard was played, the average heart rate increased to 83.4 bpm.
This shows just how excited and happy a good Christmas song can make you and also puts its singer Roy Wood and musicians, who released the song nearly 50 years ago, at the top of the chart.
In runners-up position is Fairytale of New York by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl, a song that increases the average heart rate to 80.5 bpm. This song achieved official triple platinum status last year.
Third place in the chart goes to Driving Home For Christmas, which sees the average heart rate rise to 79,5 bpm. Chris Rea’s song has made an appearance in the charts every year since 2007.
The remaining top ten songs and heart rate increases are as follows ...
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Andy Williams 79 bpm, Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon and Yoko Ono 78.bpm, Last
Christmas - Wham 77.1 bpm, Do They Know It’s Christmas? - Band Aid 77 bpm.
Merry Christmas Everyone - Slade 76.9 bpm, All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey 76.5 bmp, Santa Baby - Kylie Minogue 74.9 bpm.
Completing the top 20 are these festive classics ...
Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin’ Stevens 73.8 bpm, Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney 73.5 bpm, Mistletoe and Wine - Cliff Richard 73.2 bpm.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town - Bruce Springsteen 73 bpm, Stay Another Day- East 17 72.8 bpm, Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie 72.8 bpm, Lonely This Christmas - Mud 72.2 bpm.
Baby It’s Cold Outside - Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews 70.2 bpm, Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley 69.5 bpm, When A Child Is Born - Johnny Mathis 68.2 bpm.