We ’ ve all been there : you hear a catchy song and for days - or even weeks - on end you just can ’ t get it out of your head . Known as an earworm or brainworm , the effect has been studied before - but its cause , and how to get rid of it , is poorly understood . Now researchers say they have an answer ; chewing gum after hearing a catchy song will help you think about it less often . Reading scientists say chewing gum helps you forget a song . In a study people were less likely to think about it when chewing ( stock image shown ) . And they were a third less likely to 'hear ' it when chewing gum . The results suggests same technique could stop other intrusive thoughts . The study was carried out by scientists at the University of Reading . In the research 98 volunteers were played the ‘ catchy tunes ’ Play Hard by David Guetta and Payphone by Maroon 5 . - Recent music exposure . - Repeated music exposure . - Word triggers ( eg . the word ‘ faith ’ ) - People triggers ( where sight or memory of a person is associated with a song ) - Situation trigger ( eg . weddings can cause you to remember your own first dance song ) - Stress . - Surprise . - Dreams . - Mind wandering . Over the next three minutes , they were then asked to hit a key every time they thought of the songs - while chewing gum , not chewing gum or tapping their finger . While chewing gum , volunteers reported thinking of the song less often than when they weren ’ t chewing gum , or when they were told to tap their finger instead . And chewing gum also reduced the amount they ‘ heard ’ the song in their minds by a third . The study is the first to examine the effects of chewing gum on earworms - and it suggests it could also be used to stop other unwanted or intrusive thoughts . ‘ Interfering with our own “ inner speech ” through a more sophisticated version of the gum-chewing approach may work more widely , ’ said Dr Phil Beaman , from the University ’ s School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , who led the study . In the research 98 volunteers were played the ‘ catchy tunes ’ such as Play Hard by David Guetta and Payphone by Maroon 5 ( pictured ) . Over the next three minutes , they were then asked to hit a key every time they thought of the songs - while chewing gum , not chewing gum or tapping their finger . While chewing gum , volunteers reported thinking of the song less often than when they weren ’ t chewing gum , or when they were told to tap their finger instead . And chewing gum also reduced the amount they ‘ heard ’ the song in their minds by a third ( stock image shown ) ‘ However more research is needed to see whether this will help counter symptoms of obsessive-compulsive and similar disorders. ’ In a previous study by the University of Reading in 2009 , it was found that almost any song can become an earworm . A recent poll suggested over 90 per cent of the population experience them at least once a week with 15 per cent classifying their earworms as ‘ disturbing ’ .
Reading scientists say chewing gum helps you forget a song . In a study people were less likely to think about it when chewing . Comment: Results suggests same technique could stop other intrusive thoughts .