It is perhaps one of the most irritating experiences at bedtime. You’re about to fall asleep when you find yourself humming a silly tune, and the song just won’t get out of your head.
Known medically as worms or stuck song syndrome, studies estimate that around 98 percent of the world’s population suffers from catchy tunes that appear in their heads and don’t change.
Now, one doctor has taken to social media to recommend a handful of science-backed solutions.
According to Dr. Michael Mrozinski, a sports medicine specialist based in Australia, researchers at Harvard University conducted studies on effective treatments and found two.
‘Either go ahead and let the song play in your head and try to accept it… which didn’t work for me, or listen to other songs.’
He added that the researchers recommended specific songs that will work.
This includes the British national anthem, God Save The King, and Karma Chameleon, a song released in 1983 by the British band Culture Club, fronted by Boy George.
And he added: “I think the best solution is to get out of bed, take a short walk, try to clear your head.”
‘Maybe watch some TV that you like. She tries to relax you and then goes back to bed and tries again.
“Sitting there trying to fall asleep when things are going round and round in your brain is a very bad idea and actually only makes you worse because you get angrier.”
Doctors recommend that extreme cases of so-called stuck song syndrome can be treated with antidepressants.
Dr. Mronzinski says that for about a third of people who suffer from this problem, the “stuck” song does not go away, sometimes for several hours or even days.
The problem, he adds, can be triggered by periods of stress or intense emotion.
A 2016 case report by psychiatrists in the Netherlands compared severe cases of stuck song syndrome with obsessive-compulsive disorder, due to the “cognitive itch” seen in both conditions.
In some circumstances, doctors recommended medications, such as SSRIs, which are commonly used to treat depression.
“It is recommended that these patients be questioned about avoidant behavior and OCD symptoms,” they wrote.