Songs Getting Stuck in Our Head While We Stay Asleep睡着后大脑也会开启单曲循环

We're all familiar with songs getting stuck in our head while we're awake， but it turns out this “earworm” phenomenon can happen during sleep as well. A new study investigating the phenomenon indicates that earworms invading our brains at night could cause problems in getting to sleep and staying asleep.

“Our brains continue to process music even when none is playing， including apparently while we are asleep，” says neuroscientist Michael Scullin from Baylor University in USA.

He and colleagues used surveys of 199 people， as well as a sleep lab test involving 50 volunteers， to measure how listening to music before bedtime affects sleep.

In the survey part of the study， participants who frequently listened to music during the day were more likely to report persistent nighttime earworms， which then had a negative effect on sleep quality through the night.

Earworms were reported throughout the night by participants， with those catching an earworm taking longer to fall asleep， spending more time in the light stages of sleep， and waking up more times during the night.

Surprisingly， the instrumental versions of the songs caused about twice as many earworms （and more subsequent sleep problems） than the versions with vocals.

我们在清醒时应该都有过歌曲 旋律在大脑中挥之不去的经历，但 事实证明，这种“耳虫”现象在睡 觉时也会出现。针对这一现象的新 研究表明，夜里“入侵”大脑的耳 虫可能会导致睡眠问题，让人睡不 安稳。

美国贝勒大学的神经科学家迈 克尔 · 斯卡林说：“即使没有播放 音乐，我们的大脑也会继续处理音 乐，包括在我们睡觉的时候。”

为了衡量睡前听音乐对睡眠的 影响，斯卡林和同事们调查了 199 个人，并对 50 名志愿者开展了睡 眠实验。

调查发现，白天经常听音乐的 参与者更有可能在夜里“耳虫上 脑”，而夜间耳虫会对一整晚的睡 眠质量造成负面影响。

据参与者报告，一整晚都有耳 虫现象出现，即那些耳虫上脑的人 需要更长时间才能入睡，浅睡眠时 间更长，而且夜里醒来的次数更多。

令人惊讶的是，器乐版本的歌 曲引发的耳虫现象次数是人声演唱 版本的两倍左右，导致的睡眠问题 也更多。

“We thought that people would have earworms at bedtime when they were trying to fall asleep， but we certainly didn't know that people would report regularly waking up from sleep with an earworm，” says Scullin. “But we saw that in both the survey and experimental study.”

Past studies have linked late-night music listening with better sleep in those with insomnia， perhaps because it can relax the body. The researchers behind the new study suggest that actually it might be worse for our sleep—that even after the tunes stop， our brains continue to process them for several hours.

Scullin suggests avoiding listening to music right before bed to limit the chance of a catchy tune taking hold in our minds. Engaging in some other cognitive activity before sleeping， like making a list of jobs for the next day， might also help clear the mind， Scullin says.

“Everyone knows that music listening feels good，” says Scullin. “Adolescents and young adults routinely listen to music near bedtime. But sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.”

“The more you listen to music， the more likely you are to catch an earworm that won't go away at bedtime. When that happens， chances are your sleep is going to suffer.”

斯卡林说：“我们原以为，人们在试图入睡时会被耳虫困扰，但是我们不知道，人们在夜里会时常被耳虫吵醒。但是我们从调查和实验中都发现了这一点。”

过去的研究曾将深夜听音乐与改善失眠者的睡眠质量联系在一起，这或许是因为听音乐可以让身体放松。参与这项新研究的研究人员指出，实际上，睡前听音乐可能对我们的睡眠更不利，因为即使在曲子停止播放后，我们的大脑仍会花数个小时继续对其进行处理。

斯卡林建议尽量别在睡前听音乐，以免那些朗朗上口的旋律占据我们的脑海。他指出，在睡觉前从事其他的一些认知活动，比如列出第二天的工作清单，也可能有助于理清思绪。

斯卡林说：“大家都知道听音乐的感觉很好。青少年和年轻人会习惯性地在睡前听音乐。但是有时候好事太多反变坏事。”

“你听的音乐越多，你就越可能在睡觉时遭遇耳虫。这种情况发生时，你的睡眠有可能会受到影响。”