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Chances are, you have experienced brain freeze at least once, and maybe oftener if you have a soft spot for frozen treats. Also known as “ice cream headaches”, some people may think that brain freeze is an inevitable side effect of consuming frozen beverages or ice cream, however that is not true. Brain freeze occurs when a specific blood vessel in the roof of your mouth is triggered and can be prevented before it happens. On occasions that brain freeze does occur, there are several tips and tricks you can try out to get rid of it quickly.
In this article, we share with you the science behind brain freeze and how you can prevent it.
Brain freeze takes place when an extremely cold substance comes into contact with the roof of your mouth. When that happens, the blood vessels in that area constrict before relaxing again, resulting in a rush of blood to the brain. This is why it can feel like your head is being squeezed when you experience brain freeze!
A good technique to avoid brain freeze is to warm up the liquid before letting it hit the roof of your mouth. This takes some practice and involves warming the liquid around your tongue before it touches the roof of your mouth. However, what can you do if brain freeze has already occurred?
A popular remedy for combatting brain freeze is to cup your nose and mouth in your palm, blowing warm air outwards and upwards. This helps to warm up the roof of your mouth. While it may appear awkward in public, your first priority would be to get rid of the brain freeze that’s threatening to take over your head!
Another popular tactic is to curl your tongue, holding the bottom against the roof of your mouth. As the roof of your mouth is cold due to the frozen treat you have just consumed, your tongue can help to warm it down. Keep it there till the brain freeze starts to subside.
If your whole mouth feels like it’s freezing, you may want to try holding your thumb to the roof of your mouth. As your frozen treat has not made direct contact with your thumb, it will almost definitely be of a lower temperature and help in warming down the roof of your mouth.
