Why a Song Gets Stuck in Your Head

You hear a song for ten seconds in a supermarket.

你在超市裡聽到一首歌，只有十秒。

Three days later, it's still playing in your head!

三天後，它還在你腦子裡循環！

Sound familiar? Scientists call it an earworm.

是不是很熟悉？科學家把它叫作「耳蟲」。

Surprisingly, almost everyone gets them, every single week!

出乎意料的是，幾乎每個人每週都會遇到！

And it's usually not the whole song.

而且通常不是整首歌。

Ugh, just one tiny bit of the chorus, over and over!

唉，就是副歌裡的一小段，一遍又一遍！

So why does this happen?

那為什麼會這樣呢？

Your brain hates things that feel unfinished.

大腦討厭沒完成的感覺。

When you only hear part of a song,

當你只聽到一首歌的一部分，

it keeps looping it, trying to complete it.

它就會不停循環，想把它補完整。

Oh, and catchy songs make it even worse!

喔，洗腦神曲會讓情況更糟！

Simple melodies, lots of repetition, and one surprising little jump.

簡單的旋律、大量的重複，再加上一個出人意料的小跳音。

So, how do you make it stop?

那怎麼才能讓它停下來？

Believe it or not, try chewing gum.

信不信由你，試試嚼口香糖。

Chewing uses the same parts of your brain as silent singing.

咀嚼用到的大腦區域和默默唱歌是一樣的。

Or just listen to the whole song, right to the end.

或者乾脆把整首歌聽完，一直聽到最後。

Then your brain can finally let it go. Ahh, silence!

這樣大腦終於能放下了。啊，清靜了！