The vast majority of people say they have been mentally tortured at one point in their lives by a song that keeps repeating itself over and over in their heads.
And new research shows that people most frequently plagued by this are those with slightly neurotic tendencies, and people who enjoy and listen to music often.
These mental broken records are also more likely to play the first or last song we hear in different situations, such as the song that comes on the morning alarm, or the last song playing before we turn off the car radio, study findings show.
Research by Dr James Kellaris of the University of Cincinnati into the phenomenon of earworms reveals that "sticky" songs are those that are relatively simple, repetitive, and contain an element that surprises the listener. One example is the Baha Men's Who Let the Dogs Out?
To protect yourself, Kellaris recommends that people not worry about a stuck song as soon as it appears, and perhaps avoid listening to music for a spell. - Reuters