Why do I get 'Brain Freeze' when I eat ice cream?

Answer 1

When something cold touches the roof of your mouth on a hot day, it triggers a cold headache. The cause is a dilation of blood vessels in the head. The dilation may be caused by a nerve center located above the roof of your mouth -- when this nerve center gets cold, it seems to over-react and tries to heat your brain.

Therefore, the easy way to avoid "brain freeze" is to keep cold things away from the roof of your mouth!

Answer 2

sounds like a headache to me...lol

Ok the sudden cold to the nervous system slows the level of blood flow through the body and thereby to the brain. Hence the ouch factor to the brain. Blood carries oxygen, which is a life source for the brain

Surgeons use ice to freeze the Brain a and slow the flow of blood to a near death level when performing complex neurosurgery

Answer 3

When cold stuff (like popsicles, ice cream or slushies) touches the roof of your mouth it can set off a nerve reaction (in the spheno-palantine ganglion, to be precise), that causes the blood vessels in your brain to swell. When the blood vessels swell, you get a headache. The headache usually lasts less than a minute. Mystery solved.
The way you make it go away is to warm the roof of your mouth back up, thereby constricting (narrowing) the blood vessels. The easiest thing to do is to press your tounge to the roof of your mouth. You can also try drinking warm water. In the future, try to eat your frozen treats slowly and give yourself breaks between bites to let your mouth warm up.

Answer 4

its actually like a type of synesthesia, where your brain misinterprets a sensation into something else
in this case, the extreme sudden cold input into the brain is responded w/ an output of a pain sensation between the eyes
its not the proper response, but it gets the job done cuz you don't have another bite of the ice cream until the "brain freeze" is gone

Answer 5

I'm not a doctor, but I understand what BRAINFREEZE is, pumpkin! It's when you get an instant, acute localised pain in your head that can last for more than a few seconds. Usually associated with eating cold foods and blood vessels, as explained above.

Maybe you have a different name for it????

Answer 6

I usually get it by eating too fast. BUT i do this purposely to rid myself of hangovers. Seriously it works. Try it

Answer 7

BRAIN FREEZE?? BY THE WAY CAN U XPLAIN WHAT IS IT?

Answer 8

well it gives an indication that you too have brain ;)

Answer 9

THAT HAPPENS TO ME WHEN I EAT IT TOO FAST

Answer 10

you'd suppose to put it in your mouth , dolt, not your ear