That Song Stuck In Your Head. It's an Earworm
Last week I suddenly had an urge to listen to a song I hadn’t listened to in a long time. It’s called Babe I’m Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin. Great song really but I wasn’t expecting the song to get stuck in my head. It was like on constant repeat right to the point that I went to sleep it kept insisting on playing in my head. The same heavy beats looping all the time. This sparked an interest in what was going on in my brain to cause such an experience besides the song itself. I learned something new and for those of you that don’t know this yet, the experience of having a piece of music stuck in your head is called an earworm.
The scientific term is called Involuntary Musical Imagery (IMI) or otherwise informally known as “stuck song syndrome”, more formally known as involuntary cognition, and over ninety percent of people experience it. Earworms can last for a few minutes to up to a few hours. What causes a song to “stick”? It turns out that catchy melody where you’re more likely to develop an earworm is simple and repetitive, and yes indeed there is one section in the song that meets that criteria. That was the part that kept playing like a loop in my mind. A familiar song or one that has been recently played is also more likely to develop into an earworm as well as a faster tempo in terms of the structure of the piece of music.
Earworms are normally about 15-30 seconds long and occur most often in those who have an interest in music. How do you get rid of an earworm if it ever happens to you? Consider putting together a puzzle or engaging in some absorbing activity such as reading. The term ohrwurm, was first invented by Germans to describe the experience of a song getting stuck in your head. It turns out that earworms can be triggered by not only listening to a piece of music but remembering the piece of music. The emotion, whether positive or negative that is associated with the song, can actually cause it to develop into an earworm. In my case, I found it was a positive association. The brain breaks the music down in bite size pieces and the music sits in a memory “pocket’.
Stuck song syndrome can also be associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as depression. Heightened stress and anxiety can increase the experience of earworms, even though they are not known to be harmful in any way; some people may find them disruptive in nature. Apparently, women and men can both experience earworms, but the duration is longer for women than for men. The Auditory Cortex is the brain region responsible for processing music and sound, and it also holds memories. The Auditory Cortex is activated regardless of whether we’re listening to the song but even if we are singing the song in our mind. Listening to the piece in its entirety can help to get rid of an earworm or deliberately listening to something which has the opposite rhythm, such as a slow piece of music. Cognitive behavior therapy may help to decrease the occurrence of intrusive thoughts and getting plenty of physical exercise is also part of a complete approach to healing and reducing stress and anxiety. Chewing gum may help as well in addition to meditation and mindfulness practices.
It appears that, the default mode network becomes activated, similar to when you're in a vivid daydream. It takes hold of the catchiest part of the song, the part that “sticks” and creates a seemingly endless loop in your brain. It appears that the default mode network is stronger and more active when in solitude. To shake things up a little and to have a little fun while you’re at it, try turning this solitary experience into something social and more external. Singing out loud might help to dislodge the earworm. It worked for me as I decided to sing the song out loud. I also had some fun with it which turns out, singing is also a great stress reliever.
