1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bomb here. Why do songs 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: and jingles get seemingly inextricably stuck in our heads? I 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: mean I forget my phone number sometimes? So why does 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: my brain occasionally dredge up a song from a ninety 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: nineties Bagel Bites commercial and play it on repeat for hours? 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: Earworms aren't literal parasites, thank heck. But they are parasitic 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: in the sense that they get lodged in your head 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: and cause a sort of cognitive itch, a need for 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: the brain to fill in the gaps in a song's rhythm. 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,480 Speaker 1: When we listen to a song, it triggers a part 12 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: of the brain called the auditory cortex. A Researchers at 13 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: Dartmouth University found that when they played part of a 14 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 1: familiar song to research subjects, the participants auditory cortex automatically 15 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: filled in the rest. In other words, their brains kept 16 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: singing long after the song had ended. The only way 17 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: to scratch brain it is to repeat the song over 18 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: and over in your mind. Unfortunately, like with mosquito bites, 19 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: the more you scratch, the more you itch, and so on, 20 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: until you're stuck in an unending song cycle. But that's 21 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: just one theory. There are many others about why songs 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 1: get stuck in our heads. Some researchers say stuck songs 23 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: are like thoughts that we're trying to suppress. The harder 24 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: we try not to think about them, the more we 25 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 1: can't help it. Other experts claim that earworms are simply 26 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: a way to keep the brain busy when it's idling. 27 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: James Colores, a marketing professor at the University of Cincinnati 28 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: College of Business Administration, has done research on earworms and 29 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: brain itch, and he's found that as many as of 30 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: us have fallen prey to them at one time or another. 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: Colaris says that women, musicians, and people who are tired 32 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: or stressed are more prone to earworm attacks. With musicians, 33 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: it makes sense because they're listening to music continuously, but 34 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: Colors isn't sure why women have been found to be 35 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: more susceptible. Researchers also aren't sure why some songs are 36 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: more likely to get stuck in our heads than others. 37 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: But everyone has their own tunes that drive them up 38 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: the wall. Often the songs have a simple upbeat melody, catchy, 39 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: repetitive lyrics, and a surprise like an extra beat or 40 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: unusual rhythm, the same factors that made the songs or 41 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: jingles popular in the first place. Songs with lyrics account 42 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: for some seventy four percent of what we get stuck 43 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: in our heads, followed by commercial jingles, fiercent and instrumental songs. 44 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: And even though it can be annoying, we don't just 45 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: repeat the songs that we hate. In one study done 46 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: by researchers at Bucknell University, more than half of students 47 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: who had songs stuck in their heads rated them as 48 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 1: pleasant and were neutral. Only fifteen percent of the songs 49 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: were considered unpleasant. Unfortunately, there is no tried, in true 50 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,519 Speaker 1: way to get songs out of your head. Once they're 51 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: stuck in there, they can stick in your brain for 52 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: anywhere from a few minutes to several days. Most earworms 53 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: will eventually crawl out on their own, But if a 54 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: song is nagging you to the brink, here are a 55 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: few tips. Try singing a different song, playing another melody 56 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: on an instrument, or listening to other music, or switch 57 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: to an activity that keeps you busy, like working out, 58 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: or try listening to the song all the way through. 59 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: Our researchers even recommend picturing the earworm is a real 60 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: creature crawling out of your head, and then imagining stomping 61 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: on it. They also say that talking about your earworm 62 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: can help, but you might want to be careful. Your 63 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: friends and family might not appreciate it. Though. If you 64 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: do prank someone with an earworm, you'll be in historic company. 65 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: Back in the seventeen hundreds, Mozart's children would supposedly annoy 66 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: him by starting a melody on the piano and leaving 67 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: it hanging. He would rush downstairs to finish the tune. 68 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Stephanie Watson and produced by 69 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: Tyler Clain. For more on this and lots of other 70 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff 71 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my 72 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit thy heart Radio, app, Apple Podcasts, or 73 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.