Why Do Frozen Drinks Give You Brain Freeze?

There's nothing more satisfying on a hot day than chugging a delicious frozen drink or slushy. Though occasionally those frozen treats come with a brief moment of pain that feels like — well, brain freeze. Also known as sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, brain freeze has accompanied frozen drinks and cold foods as long as ice cream has been around, and the reason behind it involves the intricate workings of our nervous system.

When someone chugs a frozen drink, the sudden, extreme temperature drop impacts the roof of the mouth in a way that sets off events like dominoes, alerting blood vessels to shrink, and causing brain arteries to dilate. This wild ride going on inside the body sets off the trigeminal nerve that sends sensory data known as referred pain to the mouth, face, and brain, leading to the usual exclamation of "brain freeze!" Unlike a regular headache or a migraine, the brain freeze — or ice cream headache — packs a wallop before passing, once oral temperature returns to a warmer temperature. For those who despise brain freeze but love a frozen treat, don't lose hope. There are ways to minimize the phenomenon.

Brain freeze is just one of the reasons to skip the gas station slushy this summer, but it doesn't have to be. If you find yourself in the trenches of brain freeze and want it to go away quickly, you can try one of several methods. You can drink a room-temperature beverage to take the icy chill out of your mouth. This will mitigate the mayhem in your blood vessels and neutralize the temperature. Alternatively, you can press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to warm it up.

Another trick is to enjoy your frosty drink just a bit more slowly, giving your mouth time to adjust and warm up slightly before each gulp. Those who tend to drink or eat cold things faster also tend to experience brain freezes more often. Of course, you could always avoid cold items altogether, but that takes all of the fun out of warm, sunny days. Everyone should be able to enjoy an ice-cold treat, whether it's a slushy, an iced coffee, or a delicious frozen orange juice. Brain freeze just happens to come with the territory regarding your favorite chilled goodies.