11 Reasons Why Your Brain Is A Total Dick

For the love of God, somebody please get "Faith" by George Michael out of my head.

A song that is stuck in your head is what is known as an "earworm". Not only is it incredibly annoying, but it's also extremely common, with 98% of people thought to experience it on a regular basis.

So why does it happen? What could possibly be the evolutionary advantage of lying awake at night with "Hakuna Matata" on continuous mental loop?

Nobody knows for sure, but there are a few theories flying around. One is that music is a "multi-sensory stimulus", meaning that you don't just hear it, but experience it both emotionally, physically and, if you are musical, visually by reading and playing a musical score.

It is also thought that because music is very personal, it works its way deep into the psyche. Although, this doesn't quite account for why the Haribo jingle so often worms its way in (perhaps a traumatic childhood incident with a Gold Bear?).

The fact that our brains are incredibly good at holding onto music has served us well in the past. Before the invention of writing, a large amount of information was passed from person to person in the form of song. This is a practice that carries on in many cultures with a strong oral tradition.

Perhaps now that we've invented writing, and therefore don't have to hold as much information in our heads, your earworm is acting something like a screensaver, rattling around in that big, empty head of yours.

Apparently, the best way to get rid of an earworm is to sing through to the end of the song (rather than loop the chorus) or to solve some complex mental puzzles to give your brain something to do. Coming up with as many anagrams for the words "Uptown Funk" would be a good place to start.