WATCH: What happens to your body during brain freeze?
Does brain freeze effect your brain at all?
Have you ever been too keen to take the first big gulps of your milkshake?
Or bitten into your ice cream too eagerly?
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No matter what you call it or how hard you try to avoid it, we've all experienced brain freeze at some point.
It happens to the best of us and feels like a special kind of cruel punishment linked to some of the most enjoyable things!
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Brain freeze, ice cream headache, or as medical professionals call it, sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, is a common occurrence.
It's like the sweet and more innocent version of a hangover.
Believe it or not, it can even be prevented.
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While many people might have had their fair share of brain freeze experiences, have you ever wondered what’s actually happening in your body when it strikes?
According to various sources, researchers began paying more attention to these headaches in the 1960s.
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Vascular mechanisms, rapid constriction and dilation of blood vessels, cause these headaches.
The same systems are responsible for the aura and pulsatile pain phases of migraine headaches.
When you eat something cold, like ice cream, and it touches the roof of your mouth, the rapid cooling causes blood vessels to constrict.
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These blood vessels experience rebound dilation when they warm up again.
This dilation is sensed by pain receptors, and pain signals are sent to the brain through the trigeminal nerve (aka the fifth cranial nerve or the fifth nerve).
The trigeminal nerve controls sensation in the face. When pain signals are received, the brain interprets them as coming from the forehead, which we perceive as a headache.
During a brain freeze, you perceive what is called "referred pain". This happens when the perceived area of pain in the body is away from the site of actual injury or reception of a painful stimulus.
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Another example of referred pain is arm, shoulder, neck or back pain during a heart attack.
Here's a visual representation and explanation of what happens when you experience brain freeze:
You might prefer this video if you want to see a more detailed description using real-life human parts.
(Warning: this video is not for sensitive viewers.)
Here are three tips on how to avoid brain freeze:
Slow down – eating or drinking cold things at a slower pace gives your mouth time to adapt to the temperature.
Avoid hot rooms or climates – brain freeze requires a warm ambient temperature, so you're more likely to experience it in warmer areas.
Hold the cold food/drink in the front part of your mouth and allow it to warm up a little before you swallow.
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Main image courtesy of iStock