Cool facts about brain freeze

Many people are familiar with the brief but sharp pain felt in the forehead and temples while eating ice cream or drinking a cold beverage. In fact, brain freeze is one of the most common types of headaches. Here’s an overview of this cool phenomenon.

How it happens
When something cold comes in contact with the roof of your mouth or the back of your throat, it causes the nearby blood vessels to constrict. This triggers a rush of blood to the area that widens these vessels in an attempt to restore warmth and proper blood flow.

The reason you experience pain when this happens is that there’s a bundle of highly sensitive nerves located just behind your nose. These are linked to the trigeminal nerve in the brain, which is responsible for providing sensation to the face. This is why you might experience brain freeze in your temples, forehead, or behind your eyes, even though the source of the cold is in your mouth.

How to treat it
A simple cure for an ice cream headache is to warm up the affected blood vessels. You can do this by firmly pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth until the pain dissipates. Alternatively, you can take a few slow sips of a warm beverage.

If you want to avoid brain freeze altogether, without giving up your favorite frozen treats, remember not to rush and to take small bites or sips.