Music that is simple, repetitive, and easy to sing or hum is the most likely to get stuck in our heads. We’ve all experienced those pesky earworms that seem impossible to shake off. From Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” these songs have a way of burrowing deep into our minds and staying there for hours or even days on end.
But what exactly makes certain songs more catchy and memorable than others? It turns out that it’s not just a coincidence. Certain factors contribute to the stickiness of earworms. Nursery rhymes and kid-friendly tunes, for example, are specifically composed to be catchy and repetitive to aid in memorization. So if the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” crawls into your head, now you know why.
But catchy melodies aren’t the only reason why earworms stick around. It seems that our emotional state can also play a role. When we’re tired or overworked, we become more vulnerable to earworms. Interestingly, being too stressed or not stressed enough can also make us more susceptible to these catchy tunes. It’s a Goldilocks-like quandary where our brain is more receptive to repetitive music when our stress levels are just right. As a parent, I often found myself plagued by earworms when my three sons were young. The combination of sleep deprivation and simple music created the perfect breeding ground for these persistent tunes.
According to James Kellaris, a marketing professor at the University of Cincinnati, also known as Dr. Earworm, earworms are a form of rumination. They act as a mental “stickiness” that traps our thoughts, making it difficult to let go. In fact, research suggests that people who suffer from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are more prone to earworms. Their brains are wired to overthink and fixate, creating the ideal conditions for these musical obsessions to take hold. In extreme cases, people may even experience intrusive musical imagery, where these obsessions last for months or even years, significantly impacting their everyday life and work.
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While most people aren’t too bothered by the occasional catchy tune playing on repeat in their heads, earworms can become frustrating when they persist for longer periods or interfere with daily life. So how can we set our earworms free?
One strategy is to complete the song. Often, when we only know a portion of the song, that’s the part that gets stuck in our heads. By listening to the entire song from start to finish, our brain receives the message that it’s complete, reducing the need for it to keep repeating. If time is limited, even cueing the applause in our imagination can signal to our mind that the song is over.
Distraction is another effective technique. Engaging in tasks or activities that capture our attention can divert our focus away from the earworm. Watching memes or coming up with a competing task, sound, or image can help disrupt the repetitive loops in our mind. Even something as simple as chewing gum can disrupt the phonological loop necessary for imaginations to take hold.
Diversifying our playlist is also a useful strategy. By exposing ourselves to a variety of songs with different tempos and beats, we give our mind a larger repertoire to draw from, reducing the chances of getting stuck on a particular tune. Alternatively, there’s the “earworm eraser,” a 42-second track specially designed to disrupt the neural patterns that latch onto catchy songs. With no rhythm or melody, it takes up space in our phonological loop, overpowering the earworm.
For those who enjoy a creative approach, mix up the lyrics of the song. One option is to use AI tools like ChatGPT, which can generate funny and personalized lyrics. By altering the words and making them funny or about a different topic, we can disrupt the repetitive patterns and potentially free ourselves from the earworm’s grip.
It’s important to note that while earworms can be frustrating, suppressing or fixating on getting rid of them can often make them last even longer. Instead, it’s best to accept their presence and try to redirect our attention to other things. As the Rolling Stones famously sang, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.”
If an earworm persists for more than 24 hours and significantly interferes with daily life, it’s important to reach out to a healthcare provider. In rare cases, there may be underlying conditions that contribute to the persistence of earworms, and appropriate treatment can help alleviate the symptoms.
In the end, earworms are just a part of our musical experience. They come and go, sometimes sticking around longer than we’d like. Understanding the factors that make certain songs catchier and learning strategies to cope with earworms can help us navigate these musical encounters with a bit more ease. So, the next time you find yourself humming along to a tune that just won’t let go, try completing the song, distracting yourself, diversifying your playlist, mixing up the lyrics, or simply embracing the fact that sometimes our minds get caught in a catchy loop.
