Therefore, the Middle Songs get stuck in the head

Dolly Style, Hasse "Kvinnaböske" Andersson and Sean Banan have eluded thousands of parents of young children in recent years.

The phenomenon is called earworm or "have a song on the brain" and research points to some common denominators in the songs that tend to get stuck.

- There are often melodies with lyrics.

They have a slightly faster tempo, are rhythmic and happy.

When it comes to pop songs, it is usually the chorus that gets stuck.

But there are no universal earworms, it depends a lot on what music we like and usually listen to everyday, says Fredrik Ullén, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet and concert pianist.

Chewing gum and national anthems

If you are exposed to one and the same song several times, of course the risk of it getting stuck increases.

But some people are more at risk than others.

- Musicians and people who listen to music a lot experience this more often than those who are not so interested, says Fredrik Ullén.

There are a wide range of tips online on how to get rid of your earworm: chew gum or listen intently to the UK national anthem God save the Queen are two of them.

But the tricks lack scientific support.

- There have been some attempts to displace the worms with other music.

The problem is that you easily pay even more attention to them and that they bite instead.

The only thing that seems to work well is not to get too worried and let them play until they get tired.

There are several theories

Some researchers have argued that through human development it was important to remember basic facts - that is, in the time before google and written language - and that people who found it easy to store information did better.

They have found back to the well, remembered which berries were poisonous and so on.

Others believe that the music in our head helps us to end up in the state of mind that is needed right then.

Energetic songs are played when we have to do something demanding.

But the question of how earworms unknowingly get stuck in the head is still unanswered, says Fredrik Ullén.

- When we think about music mentally, several areas in the brain are activated that also work when we listen to real music.

But as far as I know, no one has looked at the connection when it comes to spontaneous earworms.

Then, unfortunately, there is no scientific answer to what a catchy melody is.