Why Puzzles and Sudoku Actually Stop Earworms

That Taylor Swift chorus looping endlessly in your brain? Grab a Sudoku puzzle. Scientists call these stuck songs "involuntary musical imagery" (INMI), and research confirms that cognitively demanding tasks like puzzles genuinely kick them out of your head.

The trick isn't distraction—it's cognitive hijacking. Your brain's working memory can only juggle so many things at once, and earworms thrive in that mental real estate. When you force your brain to track numbers across a Sudoku grid or hunt for seven-letter words in a crossword, you're essentially evicting the song by filling the space it occupied.

The Science: How Much Brain Power Does It Take?

A study with 200 participants measured exactly how much mental effort you need to silence an earworm. At baseline (just sitting quietly), 65% of people reported experiencing INMI. Under low cognitive load tasks, that dropped to 32.5%. Crank up the difficulty? The earworms kept declining.

The key is working memory engagement. Light tasks like scrolling social media won't cut it—your brain can easily run a mental jukebox in the background. But Sudoku demands active problem-solving, pattern recognition, and sustained attention. There's no room left for that song.

Why Sudoku Specifically Works

Number puzzles hit a sweet spot of mental engagement:

• Visual-spatial processing: You're tracking numbers across rows, columns, and boxes simultaneously
• Logic sequencing: Each number placement requires if-then reasoning
• Error monitoring: Your brain stays alert for conflicts and contradictions
• Sustained focus: Unlike quick tasks, puzzles keep you engaged for minutes

Researchers from the University of Exeter and King's College London found that adults who regularly did puzzles like Sudoku showed measurably better brain function. A 2024 study of over 9,000 people concluded that board games and puzzles were the strongest predictors of reasoning skills.

Other Cognitive Earworm Killers

Sudoku isn't your only weapon. Any task that maxes out working memory can work: crosswords, reading dense novels, learning a new language, even playing Tetris. One fascinating study found that chewing gum reduced INMI frequency more effectively than finger tapping—the repetitive motor activity of your jaw apparently occupies the same neural pathways music uses.

The worst strategy? Trying not to think about the song. Thought suppression backfires spectacularly with earworms, often making them louder and more persistent. Your brain interprets "don't think about it" as "keep monitoring whether you're thinking about it," which means... you're still thinking about it.

When Earworms Become a Problem

Most earworms are harmless annoyances lasting a few minutes to hours. But for some people, INMI becomes intrusive and distressing. Research into inhibitory control using the stop-signal task has shown that strengthening your brain's ability to suppress unwanted thoughts can reduce chronic earworms. If stuck songs significantly interfere with your daily life, cognitive behavioral techniques exist beyond just doing puzzles.

So next time Beyoncé won't leave your brain, don't fight it directly. Give your working memory a bigger job. Your mental playlist will go quiet when it realizes the venue is booked.