{"id":20457,"date":"2020-04-26T20:58:57","date_gmt":"2020-04-26T20:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=20457"},"modified":"2020-04-29T21:04:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T21:04:37","slug":"what-is-a-brain-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/what-is-a-brain-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a brain freeze?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyler Daniel Anderson-Sieg<\/a>, University of South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Curious Kids<\/a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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What is a brain freeze?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Has this ever happened to you? You\u2019re eating a delicious ice cream cone or frozen lemonade, so cold and sweet and suddenly, bam, brain freeze! What happened?<\/p>\n

A brain freeze is a short, intense pain behind the forehead and temples that occurs after eating something cold too fast. If you get one, don\u2019t worry \u2013 your brain isn\u2019t actually freezing. The sensation feels like it\u2019s happening inside your skull, but it really has to do with what\u2019s going on in your mouth.<\/p>\n

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\n Mmmmmm. Brrrrrrrr. Ouch!<\/span>
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Brain freeze isn\u2019t as common as you might expect. Many studies report that less than half of their participants get them. Scientists still don\u2019t understand why.<\/p>\n

What makes a brain freeze hurt?<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a lot we know about how a brain freeze works. There\u2019s also a lot we don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

Just beneath the skin on your face is a network of blood vessels that supply the face and brain with blood. Blood contains many nutrients like oxygen<\/a>, which is essential for your brain to function. Tangled up in this network of vessels are tiny nerve endings connected to one another and the brain through the trigeminal nerve<\/a>. This nerve makes it possible for you to feel sensations in your face, including pain.<\/p>\n

Scientists believe the blood vessels in the throat and mouth and the trigeminal nerve are central to what makes a brain freeze hurt. But they don\u2019t quite agree on which is more responsible for causing the pain.<\/p>\n

Most agree that eating or drinking something cold, too quickly, rapidly lowers the temperature<\/a> at the back of your throat and roof of your mouth. Many also agree this causes the tiny blood vessels in these areas to shrink, allowing less blood to pass through them. This reduces their ability to supply your brain with necessary oxygen in the blood. What happens next is a little blurry.<\/p>\n

Pain in the brain means stop!<\/h2>\n

Some scientists believe the trigeminal nerve responds to these events in your throat and mouth by sending a pain signal to the front of your brain. Whether the nerve is specifically responding to the cold or a sudden reduction of blood and oxygen supply to the brain \u2013 or both \u2013 is unclear. <\/p>\n

Other scientists believe the pain is caused by a rush of blood to the front of your head. Shortly after the vessels in your throat and mouth shrink from the cold, these same vessels immediately expand. By expanding, additional blood and oxygen flood these areas<\/a>. Although this blood rush might provide your brain with desperately needed blood and oxygen, it also might increase the amount of pressure in your head, causing pain.<\/p>\n

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