Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that you simply could not get rid of? Or maybe you keep humming an upbeat tune you heard in the mall?
This is called an earworm – a song that gets stuck in your brain and keeps playing over and over. Dr Ken Fung, director of therapy and counselling at Jadis Blurton Family Development Centre in Hong Kong, explained why this phenomenon happens and how you might be able to use earworms as a study aid.
“Earworms are also called stuck song syndrome. Most of us [have this] experience, when songs keep replaying in our head, often without our control,” Fung said.
According to the psychologist, research has suggested that this can happen with songs with catchy tunes, abrupt changes of pitch, and repetitive lyrics.
“The more memorable a song is, the more likely it is to wriggle into your brain. Also, these songs are usually associated with neutral or positive experiences.”
Feeling the music
Pop music, such as Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and BTS’s “Dynamite”, is designed to be catchy, with repetitive melodies and lyrics, providing the perfect outlet for young people to connect with their emotions.
Fung explained that if a song relates to a recent emotional experience, such as a break-up, it becomes linked to that experience in our memory. As such, the song is more likely to become an earworm and get stuck in our heads when we encounter something that reminds us of that experience.
Earworms do not affect everyone the same way; some people are more likely to get them when stressed or anxious. “This could be because stress and anxiety heighten our emotions, making our brains latch onto a song and play it on a loop whenever we experience an incident that triggers a similar feeling. Unconsciously, our brain selects the song most relatable to our current mental state,” Fung shared.
He added that teenagers might be more prone to earworms because their developing brains cause them to undergo many emotional changes. “Teens, in particular, are experiencing an emotionally sensitive period in their lives where they are figuring out their identity.”
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Music and memory
Earworms are not just about feelings; they could also be linked to memory retrieval and used as a study aid. Fung pointed to a study done in 2021, which found that the songs that get stuck in our heads help strengthen memories as they first form.
Researchers conducted experiments with students in which they were asked to listen to unfamiliar music. They were then divided into two groups: the first group listened to the same music paired with film clips, while the other group saw the clips without music.
They were then tested on how well they remembered details from the film and how often the songs got stuck in their heads. Researchers found that the better students remembered the music, the more accurately they remembered the film.
“This is actually a form of conditioning using an auditory cue,” Fung said. He explained that the cue acts like a prompt, just like how the Star Wars song “The Imperial March” warns us about Darth Vader’s appearance in a scene.
“Actually, we can apply the same theory when we are studying for exams, especially if there are a lot of complicated details to remember,” Fung said.
The idea is to pair revision with a specific song we enjoy. If that song gets stuck in our head, it might be easier to recall the information we studied with the song. “But there is no guarantee this will work. The song needs to be catchy enough to become an earworm; ideally, it should also have some personal significance to you,” he explained.
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That said, there are still some benefits to studying with music. Our favourite songs can help reduce exam-related anxiety, and classical music has been shown to help our brains absorb and interpret new information more easily.
“Again, this is not for everyone,” Fung cautioned. “The music has to work for you. If you are distracted and finding it hard to focus, you should probably switch to another study aid.”
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