Scientific Way To Get A Song Out Of Your Head, Chew Gum

We all have that one song that gets suck in our head.  It can get very obnoxious and drive you crazy.  Well, there is now a scientific way to make it stop!

This happens to me all the time!  I hear a good, catchy song and it gets stuck in my head for days.  It is often called earworm or brainworm.  It as been studied before, but it is not understood.

Scientist at the University of Reading have decided to do some research.  They found that there are several different triggers that cause earworm.  Here are the triggers they found.

- Recent music exposure

- Repeated music exposure

- Word triggers (eg. the word ‘faith’)

- People triggers (where sight or memory of a person is associated with a song)

- Situation trigger (eg. weddings can cause you to remember your own first dance song)

- Stress

- Surprise

- Dreams

- Mind wandering

 The scientist tested a large group of participants.  They played catchy songs and recorded the amount of times they heard it in their minds.  They then tested them with catchy songs and had them chew gum after they heard it.  Chewing gum reduced the earworm by one third.

So next time that song gets embedded in your head, remember to grab a pack of gum!