Every morning when I wake up, I just kinda lie in bed for a few minutes trying to remember my dreams from the previous night but I always have a random song stuck in my head. Sometimes its a song I was listening to right before bed, other times its some shit I either wouldn't ever listen to or I haven't heard in a very long time. Example, yesterday I woke up with an old hymn from grade school I haven't even thought about or heard in probably 20 years. The other weird part is that they seem to be on repeat over and over during the night influencing my dreams. Anyone else have this, or do I have an alien mp3 player implanted in my head to drive me insane?
Typically, yes. It's because we have more activity in our auditory cortex, or at least denser connections between our auditory cortex and hippocampus (thus allowing easier access to memories of sound).
If you wake up with a song stuck in your head, or there is a song stuck in your head at anytime for that matter, sing the end of the song to yourself and it will usually go away. We are pattern completion animals and our brains have a problem with "unfinished patterns." It's called the Zeigarnik effect.
Oh wow, I thought I was the only one! Like 90% of every morning, it's just that I open my eyes and the very first thought I have is a part of a song. And it's weird because sometimes they are songs that I'd never listen to, or as you say, that I've listened to a long time ago and maybe just once or twice. I told a friend about it and he likes me to tell him which song it is everyday, like "Today's song is (...)" I found interesting your explanation, reggie_watts