Why Songs Get Stuck in Our Heads, and How to Stop Them

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1. 01Why Songs Get Stuck in Our Heads

   Good afternoon, everyone. Has a song ever played in your head again and again, even though you wanted it to stop? That happened to me all last week. Today, I'll explain what's going on, and what might help.

   大家下午好。你们有没有过这样的经历：一首歌在脑子里一遍又一遍地播放，就算你想让它停下来也停不了？我上周一整周都是这样。今天，我来解释一下这是怎么回事，以及什么办法可能有帮助。

2. 02Meet the Earworm

   This experience has a name: an earworm. It's a piece of music that repeats in your mind without you choosing it. Usually, it's not the whole song, just a short, catchy part, like the chorus.

   这种经历有一个名字，叫“耳虫”。它是一段不由你选择、却在脑海里不断重复的音乐。通常不是整首歌，而只是短短的一段朗朗上口的部分，比如副歌。

3. 03When Do Earworms Appear?

   From my own experience, earworms often appear after I've heard a song many times, or when my mind is relaxed, like when I'm walking or taking a shower.

   根据我自己的经验，耳虫常常出现在我把一首歌听了很多遍之后，或者在我头脑放松的时候，比如散步或洗澡的时候。

4. 04Why It's a Problem

   Most of the time, earworms are harmless. But when you're trying to study or fall asleep, a song that won't stop can be really annoying.

   大多数时候，耳虫是无害的。但当你想学习或者想睡觉时，一首停不下来的歌真的会让人很烦。

5. 05An Experiment With Chewing Gum

   Here's an interesting finding. In 2015, researchers at the University of Reading published a study showing that chewing gum reduced the number of unwanted musical thoughts people had. Their idea is that chewing interferes with the mouth movements we use when we silently "sing" in our heads.

   有一个很有意思的发现。2015年，英国雷丁大学的研究人员发表了一项研究，结果显示嚼口香糖可以减少人们脑中不想要的音乐念头。他们的想法是，咀嚼会干扰我们在脑子里默默“唱歌”时所用的口部动作。

   Source: Beaman, Powell & Rapley, "Want to block earworms from conscious awareness? B(u)y gum!" Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2015)

6. 06Other Things You Can Try

   Besides chewing gum, a few other tricks work for me. Sometimes I listen to the whole song once, so my brain gets an ending. Other times, I do something that needs my full attention, like a puzzle.

   除了嚼口香糖，还有几个小技巧对我有用。有时我会把整首歌完整地听一遍，让大脑听到结尾。有时我会做一些需要全神贯注的事情，比如拼图。

7. 07A Word of Caution

   However, one study is not the final answer. The gum experiments were done in a lab, so the effect may not be the same for everyone in daily life. It's worth trying, but don't expect magic.

   不过，一项研究并不是最终答案。口香糖实验是在实验室里做的，所以在日常生活中，效果不一定对每个人都一样。值得一试，但别期待奇迹。

8. 08Conclusion

   To conclude, earworms are a normal part of how our brains handle music. They're usually harmless, and when they're not, a piece of gum might help. Thank you, and I'm sorry if a song is stuck in your head now.

   最后，耳虫是我们大脑处理音乐的一种正常现象。它们通常是无害的，如果真的让你困扰，嚼一块口香糖也许会有帮助。谢谢大家，如果现在有首歌卡在你脑子里了，真不好意思。