Brain Freeze, or also known as Ice Cream Headache, is an instant pain in the head when consuming cold products. The pain is excruciating, but fortunately, it only lasts a few seconds. Cold beverages, shakes, ice cream, desserts, Slurpees, and many more frozen products can all cause brain freeze.
The brain does not actually “freeze” but just a mere expression of the sudden pain in the head. Experts suggest that 2 out of 10 people are sensitive to this kind of condition, but all of us are prone, especially if you favor cold or frozen products. The pain is comparable to a severe headache or migraine but subsides quickly.
What causes brain freeze? Experts suggest that a cold contact in the roof of the mouth called hard palate can cause nerve sensitivities in the area, which leads the blood vessels in the brain to dilate. When this occurs, the result is a short time acute headache. The condition then recedes after the initial contact, and the reaction of your body to cold will begin to be immune.
Sphenopalatine, a group of nerves behind the roof of your mouth, acts as a protective mechanism for your brain. These nerves are sensitive in abrupt changes of the temperature inside the mouth, which sends out impulses to the other nerves that a significant pain will occur.
One of the universal remedy to reduce the pain of brain freeze is to simply bend your tongue upwards, towards the roof of the mouth during brain freeze. This helps regulate the temperature within the mouth, which stops nerve sensitivities and the dilation of the blood vessels.
The best way to prevent brain freeze is to avoid frozen products itself. Choose a beverage that is not that cold and take ice cream slowly. This condition is not a severe threat of health but may still cause you pain or headache in a short time.
