Song stuck in your head?

Why?

So you wake up in the morning and you have a song in your head. Maybe it's "Good Morning, good moooorning, good morning to you!" from "Singing in the Rain", or it's "It's gonna be a good good night" by The Black Eyed Peas. You may have even gone all day with silence in your brain and then, pop! You have the refrain from "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles on constant repeat driving you crazy. What usually happens to me is I'll hear a simple phrase, like "I'm yours", and then bam! Jason Mraz is playing a concert in my head only for me (and I may even sing along). It happens enough that it makes a girl wonder...how and why does this happen? And why is it usually annoying songs (such as "That's Not My Name" by the Ting Tings or "So What" by Pink)?

It's not necessarily because it's a catchy tune or the most popular song on the radio. There is actually a scientific explanation. Earworms. Yes, you heard me. Earworms. They like to crawl their way to the auditory cortex and wreak havoc. They're not actually worms, but more like a virus that enjoys messing with your memories and performing karaoke. When you hear part of a familiar song, such as one played over and over and over on public radio, and then that song shuts off, your brain (via earworms) finishes the tune in your head. It's unclear what exactly triggers the earworm, but it's usually depends on three things: how repetitive the song is, how neurotic or stressed out you are, and when it happens (morning, evening, etc).

99% of the human race are affected by earworms (not much of a surprise there), and it mostly happens to women and musicians. Musicians because, well, that one's kind of obvious, but no one's quite sure why it happens more to women than men. Most people need lyrics in order for the earworm to activate, but there are a few who can just get a melody stuck in their heads. Of course, many businesses use the earworms to their advantages and get people to sing their company jingles over and over and over in their heads until their craving whatever is being sold.

If your earworms are becoming more than just a mere annoyance, Stephanie Watson from "How Stuff Works" (http://www.howstuffworks.com/) lists ways to keep your sanity: