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I think the other answers are answering the wrong question. You are not asking why we all sometimes get a song stuck in our heads, you are asking why some (few) people seem to have one stuck in their head all the time.
Two causes that I have been able to dig up on the net are anxiety and boredom. Anxiety is the more serious one, it causes Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and one possible obsession is with a tune, or tunes. In serious, persistent cases the person should seek psychological treatment.
Boredom shows up in long distance runners, who then can't concentrate on running instead of the blasted tune. It probably therefor affects people who have to do similar, nearly mindless repetitive tasks for a long time. I'd call that a cousin to Repetitive Strain Injury, and the solution is just not to do it. Take breaks and think about real stuff.
Source(s):
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=advice&id=1958&at=7...
http://www.attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp/message_79767
http://www.medicineonline.com/articles/R/2/Repetitive-Stress-Syndrome/Repet...
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I read last year of a study that found that the best way to get the song "un-stuck" from your head was to listen to the whole song. I don't recall the source, but I'm looking. ;-)
Source(s):
http://health.howstuffworks.com/songs-stuck-in-head.htm
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This made sense to me because songs are rhythmic and timed based on math, and because there are other examples of the human mind replaying things it hasn't figured out as dreams.
I understand that this is not definitive, but as many other psychological theories we have only what makes the most sense as an answer, because there is no way to do the experiment...yet : )
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M$3
February 12, 2009 03:52 AM
It appears some people always have a song "stuck" in their head. What causes this? Is it good or bad?
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| February 12, 2009 01:30 PM |
Two causes that I have been able to dig up on the net are anxiety and boredom. Anxiety is the more serious one, it causes Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and one possible obsession is with a tune, or tunes. In serious, persistent cases the person should seek psychological treatment.
Boredom shows up in long distance runners, who then can't concentrate on running instead of the blasted tune. It probably therefor affects people who have to do similar, nearly mindless repetitive tasks for a long time. I'd call that a cousin to Repetitive Strain Injury, and the solution is just not to do it. Take breaks and think about real stuff.
Source(s):
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=advice&id=1958&at=7...
http://www.attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp/message_79767
http://www.medicineonline.com/articles/R/2/Repetitive-Stress-Syndrome/Repet...
| Asker's Rating: |
• Although there were several really good answers, you came the closest to telling me "why". Good job!
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Other Answers (5)
February 12, 2009 04:00 AM
How stuff works has a good story about this phenomenon. http://health.howstuffworks.com/songs-stuck-in-head.htm I read last year of a study that found that the best way to get the song "un-stuck" from your head was to listen to the whole song. I don't recall the source, but I'm looking. ;-)
Source(s):
http://health.howstuffworks.com/songs-stuck-in-head.htm
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February 12, 2009 04:28 AM
I read once that your mind replays the song in order to "solve" it as if it were a math problem. This made sense to me because songs are rhythmic and timed based on math, and because there are other examples of the human mind replaying things it hasn't figured out as dreams.
I understand that this is not definitive, but as many other psychological theories we have only what makes the most sense as an answer, because there is no way to do the experiment...yet : )
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February 12, 2009 06:09 AM
I am convinced it's my ADD. Every morning when I showered, I would inevitably have a song stuck in my head. That's when I bought a water resistant radio for the shower... cured. Until I leave for work, that is. Gimme a break... giiiimme a break... brea--mm, sorry. :(
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The theory for this is that, because your mind is processing the melody of one song and the lyrics of another, it will "unstick" the song in your brain but it won't stick another song in its place.