What causes brain freeze, and how do you stop it?

Brain freeze happens when something very cold, like a big spoonful of ice cream, suddenly chills the roof of your mouth. That cold sets off a quick change in blood flow in your head, and your brain reads it as a sharp pain behind the forehead. It passes on its own, usually fast. To stop it sooner, take the cold away and warm the roof of your mouth: press your tongue against it or sip something lukewarm. To avoid it, slow down and let each spoonful soften on your tongue first.

We make ice cream for a living, so we have had our share of brain freezes. Here is what the science says is going on, and the tricks that help.

What is brain freeze?

Brain freeze is a short, stabbing headache caused by cold food or drink. You might also hear it called an ice cream headache, a cold-stimulus headache, or, if you want to impress someone at the dessert table, sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.

Despite the name, nothing in your head is freezing. The pain is your body reacting to a sudden temperature change in your mouth. It tends to land in the forehead or behind the eyes, not where the cold touched.

What causes brain freeze?

The trigger is cold hitting the roof of your mouth (the palate) or the back of your throat quickly. What happens next seems to be a rapid change in blood flow to the brain.

In a small study presented at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting, researchers from Harvard Medical School, the VA New Jersey Health Care System and the National University of Ireland Galway asked 13 healthy adults to sip ice water through a straw pressed against the roof of the mouth. As the volunteers felt brain freeze set in, the researchers saw a major blood vessel in the brain, the anterior cerebral artery, widen rapidly. When that vessel narrowed again, the pain eased. ScienceDaily's report on the study explains the researchers' idea: the sudden flow of warm blood may be the body trying to keep the brain warm, and because the skull is a closed space, that rush could briefly raise pressure and cause pain.

The same report notes that people who get migraines seem more likely to get brain freeze, and that similar changes in blood flow may play a part in other types of headache.

How to stop brain freeze fast

The quickest fix is to warm the roof of your mouth and stop adding cold. Most brain freezes fade quickly on their own, but these steps can help them pass sooner.

1. Stop eating or drinking the cold thing. Put the spoon down. Another mouthful will only keep it going.
2. Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Your tongue is warm. Flatten it against your palate and hold it there.
3. Sip something lukewarm or at room temperature. Plain water is fine. Avoid anything hot enough to scald a chilled mouth.
4. Breathe through your mouth with your hands cupped. Breathing warm air over the roof of your mouth helps a little, and it gives you something to do while you wait.
5. Wait it out. It will pass. Then go back to your ice cream, slowly.

How to avoid brain freeze in the first place

Slow down and keep the coldest part away from the roof of your mouth. That covers most of it.

Letting a tub soften a little helps twice over. It is easier to scoop, and it is kinder to your palate. Our guide to softening ice cream shows how to do it without the edges melting. A few minutes is plenty; much longer and you are into the territory covered in how long ice cream can sit out.

Does the type of ice cream make a difference?

Temperature matters far more than the recipe. Any frozen treat cold enough to chill the roof of your mouth quickly can give you brain freeze, from a tub of ice cream to an ice block.

That said, a few things change how cold a mouthful feels:

• Serving temperature. Gelato is usually served a bit warmer and softer than ice cream. Our gelato vs ice cream post explains why.
• Icy textures. Sorbets, slushies and ice blocks can feel colder and sharper in the mouth than a creamy scoop.
• Drinks. Icy drinks gulped through a straw are classic culprits because they reach the back of the mouth so fast.
• Warm partners. Pairing ice cream with something warm, like espresso in an affogato or a jug of hot fudge sauce, takes the edge off each spoonful.

Dairy-free ice cream is no exception. Our oat-milk dairy-free range is just as cold as the dairy tubs, so the same slow-down advice applies.

Brain freeze and kids

Kids often get brain freeze because they eat quickly and take big bites, especially when a cone is dripping. It is usually more surprising than serious.

If your child gets one, help them stop eating for a moment, press their tongue to the roof of their mouth and sip some water. A cup and spoon instead of a cone can slow them down, and smaller scoops make it easier. Planning a party? Our guides to the ice cream sundae bar and how much ice cream to buy for a party help keep things relaxed rather than a race.

When to talk to a doctor

Ordinary brain freeze needs no treatment. It comes on with cold food, and it goes once the cold is gone.

Check in with your GP if you get headaches that hang around long after the cold has gone, come on without anything cold, are severe, or come with other symptoms such as changes in vision, numbness or confusion. Those aren't brain freeze, and they deserve a proper look. If you already live with migraines and notice that cold food seems to set them off, that is worth mentioning to your doctor too.

Quick checklist: beating brain freeze

• Small spoonfuls, eaten slowly.
• Let each bite warm on your tongue before you swallow.
• Soften very hard tubs for a few minutes before scooping.
• Sip icy drinks gently and aim the straw at your tongue.
• If it strikes: stop, tongue to the roof of your mouth, sip something lukewarm, wait.

Brain freeze is the small price of a summer full of ice cream, and with a bit of patience you can mostly dodge it. Got more ice cream questions? Our FAQs cover the basics, our flavours page is a good place to pick your next tub, and for the latest on where to find us this summer, follow us on Instagram and Facebook.