Got a song stuck in your head? Research from England's University of Reading recommends chewing gum.
According to a study led by Dr. Philip Beaman, people who chewed on gum after listening to catchy songs ended up thinking less about the songs they'd just heard than in control conditions. In fact, chewing gum led to a third of the subjects not continuing to "hear" the songs played for them.
Previous studies have found that mouthing something or even just moving the jaw around can interfere with both imaginary sounds and short-term memory. The new study, however, is the first to explore the effects of chewing gum on cases of "last song syndrome" or "earworms."
According to a poll, more than 90 percent of the population in the U.K. get songs stuck in their head at least once a week. Out of this number, 15 percent said their earworms are disturbing.
Beaman explained that the earliest cases of last song syndrome date back to at least the 19th century, adding that Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe themselves experienced earworms which were referenced in their works.
"The majority of us experience them for only short periods but others can experience them for two or three days which can be extremely frustrating and debilitating," said Beaman. "We wanted to explore whether a simple act like chewing gum could help."
For the study, the 98 participants were made to listen to catchy tunes like "Payphone" by Maroon 5 and "Play Hard"
by David Guetta. All were instructed not to think about what they had just heard for the next three minutes. If the subjects did end up thinking about the songs, they were to hit a certain key.
Based on the results of the study, those who were chewing gum reported "hearing" and thinking of the songs less often than those who did nothing or tapped their fingers instead.
According to Beaman, this type of activity may help not just in preventing earworms but in keeping intrusive thoughts at bay — most especially those that can be "heard." But while a more sophisticated version of chewing gum has the potential to be effective, further research needs to be done to properly confirm that chewing gum can indeed aid in countering obsessive-compulsive behavior and similar disorders.
Ellie Rapley and Kitty Powell also contributed to the study, which was published in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Photo: Micah Sittig | Flickr
