🍦 Why do ice creams sometimes give us headaches?

Why can ice cream give you a headache? The "brain freeze" explained

You may have already experienced this strange sensation: you eat ice cream too quickly, or drink an iced beverage, and suddenly, a sharp pain shoots through your forehead. This pain, as sudden as it is fleeting, has a scientific name: "brain freeze". And no, your brain isn't actually freezing!

A sudden cooling in your mouth

This pain has nothing to do with the brain directly. It comes from a reaction in your mouth, more precisely at the level of the palate, that sensitive area at the top of the oral cavity.

When you ingest something very cold, contact with the palate causes rapid cooling of the tissues. In response, the small blood vessels in this area react by constricting strongly, then suddenly dilating.

Pain poorly localized by your brain

This sudden change is interpreted as an alert by a very important nerve: the trigeminal nerve. This nerve is connected to several parts of your face, including the forehead. Result: the brain receives a pain signal but doesn't know exactly where it's coming from. It thinks the pain is coming from the forehead, when it actually started in the mouth. Hence this sensation of a lightning headache.

Rest assured: this phenomenon generally lasts less than a minute. It can be impressive, but it's completely harmless. Once the temperature returns to normal in your mouth, everything disappears.

How to avoid this "brain freeze"?

Here are some simple tips to avoid it:
- Don't eat frozen foods too quickly
- Avoid pressing ice directly against the palate
- Let the bite melt slightly in your mouth before swallowing

If pain occurs, press your tongue against the palate to warm it up

So "brain freeze" isn't dangerous, and it can be avoided. Just take the time to savor your ice cream... it's better for enjoyment, and for your head!