Study: Chewing gum can get rid of songs stuck in your head

Can't get that annoying song that keeps repeating over and over and over again out of your head? Chew some gum!

A study from the University of Reading has revealed that chewing gum can actually kick those catchy songs out of your brain.

Out of a group of 98 participants, researchers found that people who chewed gum while listening to a song had a 33% greater chance of getting rid of it than those who didn't. Researchers say moving your jaw can make it so that you may not be able to "hear" a song as well. Eventually, this cuts down on short-term memory and shakes away those unwanted thoughts focused around the song.

Mashable reports:

"After playing them the catchy tunes 'Play Hard' by David Guetta and 'Payphone' by Maroon 5, we asked [participants] to try not to think of the songs they had just heard over the next three minutes but to hit a key each time they did," wrote Dr. Phil Bearman, lead author of the study. "In the chewing gum condition, volunteers reported thinking of and 'hearing' the song less often than in no-activity and finger-tapping control conditions."

Turns out, having a song stuck in your head, called an earworm, is quite common.  A recent poll showed that it happens to 92% of people at least once a week. Visual stimulants and songs that bring up memories can cause your mind to wander, triggering an earworm.