Tonight I’m going to talk about a common problem. All of us, at some point, have managed to get a song stuck in our heads. Back home we call it LSS – Last Song Syndrome. Whether that song gets stuck for a few minutes or a few days, the mind’s ability to loop a song is both a blessing and a curse.

For example, having a song in your head makes running a lot easier. If you can get a catchy tune up there, it becomes easier to keep a steady pace, and you may even find yourself running a little faster than usual. What helps me is some nice beats and a fast tempo like latino house music or Carnaval music.

However, that same catchy tune becomes a nightmare when you’re trying to fall asleep and it’s especially hard to get the brain cells to shut off for the night when they’re all busy doing some random song like Enya’s May It Be (yeah that’s tonight’s LSS). They say the only way to get rid of an LSS is to sing the tune out loud. Tried that. I can’t speak Elvish (or Quenya according to Tolkien). It didn’t work out so well, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named looked at me a little funny.

What makes it really fun is when your brain takes potential (and/or completely fanciful) situations drawn from your own life experience and set them to music, so now your pre-REM brain has a movie to watch. Do I imagine myself trekking across the New Zealand hills in costume with the theme from The Fellowship of the Ring playing in the background? Maybe.

One day I’ll have to go to a doctor for my sleep problems. I’ll have to tell him my inability to sleep has always been caused by one thing and one thing only: my eternally hyperactive imagination.