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Just when that Slurpee was beginning to cool you down on a hot summer day...BRAIN FREEZE!

Brain freeze, AKA "ice cream headache", is caused by quickly eating or drinking very cold foods or beverages. It is more common in the summer - this form of brain pain is caused by an extreme difference in temperature between the environment and what you're imbibing, which is why it's virtually impossible to give yourself brain freeze in cold weather.

WHY?
To know how to avoid brain freeze, you first need to know its cause. The cold temperature of the food or beverage you're ingesting causes the blood vessels in your palate, or roof of your mouth, to rapidly constrict and then redilate when they warm up again. A very similar, but painless, blood vessel response causes the face to look 'flushed' when returning to the warmth of your house after being outside on a cold day. In your mouth, nearby pain receptors detect this dilation of the blood vessels in the palate, and send a message to the brain via the trigeminal nerve. Because the trigeminal nerve also carries pain sensations from the face, the pain you get from drinking that Slurpee too fast registers as "referred" pain in the forehead area (the same thing happens during a heart attack when chest pain 'refers' down the right arm and lower jaw). Fortunately, most brain-freeze episodes are not long, lasting only a few seconds. But when the pain extends to agonizing minutes in length, you'll need a bona fide brain-freeze intervention.

THE CURE
Luckily you won't have to give up Slurpees, shakes, ice cream, or even that delicious frozen margarita. Now that you know the cause, you know the cures:

o The obvious cure: Drink and eat cold substances more slowly.
o The tasty cure: Try warming the food in the front of your mouth before swallowing.
o The last resort: Putting your tongue, or even your thumb, hard up against the palate might also help.

Cool off and enjoy a new brain-freezeless existence!

WORK CITED

Andrews, M.A. Ask the Brains: Why do we get "brain freeze" when we eat something cold? Scientific American Mind, 19(1). pg 84.

Learn more about this author, Jean Sumner.
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