They’re called earworms (aka, Ohrwurms, sticky music, cognitive itch, stuck song syndrome, or, in simplest terms, the tunes we find trapped inside our heads for hours or days at a time). By definition, they arrive suddenly and without invitation. Intrusive songs like these plague people on a regular basis and can leave even the most level-headed individual feeling somewhere between annoyed and crazed.
To better know (and beat) an earworm, consider these facts:
1. Earworms make their way into the heads of about 90 percent of people at least once a week. But not all music and, in turn, not all earworms are created equal; some songs are more likely than others to flip the switch that turns just any old tune into a cognitive itch. When that switch is flipped, one’s brain senses something like a disembodied irritation, and one’s desire to repeat the song that started it all is something like the scratching of that itch. This issue, however, is not so easily dealt with: The brain, unable to sooth itself, repeats the song, working to rub away the tune’s staying power. The problem is, the instinct rarely achieves any goal other than a nostalgic yearning for ‘80s New Wave.
4. Earworms respond to specific moods. It’s not uncommon for people who identify themselves as anxious or melancholic to feel as if a sad song is on auto-repeat inside their heads. Stressful situations at work or home can cause the same results.
5. Other earworm triggers? Well, memory, for one. We simply need touchstones, little suggestions or reminders of past experiences to light up the jukebox in our brains. When we return to environments where we once heard an impressionable song, our minds can cause the song to play anew. Rhyme and rhythm, too, do more than their share of catching earworms. For example, philosopher of music Jeanette Bicknell suggests seeing the letters “EYC” on a sign or license plate might remind us of Michael Jackson’s hit “PYT (Pretty Young Thing),” propelling the tune into motion in our minds.
This article was originally published on www.Care2.com. Read the original here.
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