Cure Brainfreeze

When something cold touches the roof of your mouth, like ice cream or an ice cold beverage, you get a brief, stabbing headache in your forehead, also known as brain freeze.[1] The medical term for brain freeze is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.[2] Researchers have found that brain freeze happens as a the result of something cold coming in contact with the upper palate of your mouth, which then causes a sudden surge of blood into your brain.[3] But rather than avoid your favorite cold treats, focus on curing your brain freeze so you can get back to licking that ice cream cone.

Steps

Using Your Body

  1. Place your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This will warm the area and help to reduce your brain freeze. Keep your tongue there for 5 to 10 seconds until the brain freeze goes away.[4][5]
    • This will warm up your upper palate and reduce blood rushing to your brain.
  2. Press your thumb on the roof of your mouth. Make sure your thumb is clean before you place it in your mouth. Use the inside of your thumb to press your upper palate and heat it up to counteract brain freeze.[5]
  3. Use your breath. Cover your nose and mouth with your hands, making a mask over your face. Breathe quickly through your mouth to warm up your mouth with your breath and counteract the brain freeze.[4]

Using Food

  1. Drink a tepid beverage. Avoid drinking a boiling hot beverage to get rid of the brain freeze, as this will shock your mouth and could lead to a serious burn in your mouth. Go for a room temperature or slightly warmer than room temperature beverage, like warm tea or water, to heat up your mouth without burning.[5]
  2. Take smaller bites or sips of the cold item. Rather than consume that ice cream or ice cold drink very fast, take your time and eat it in small bites or sips. This will lower the chances of developing brain freeze, as it gives your mouth time to get used to the temperature of the item.[3]
    • You should also move the food around in your mouth before swallowing it to give your mouth time to adapt to the temperature of the food.
  3. Remove the cold food from your mouth. To really give your brain time to unfreeze, spit out the ice cold food into a napkin or remove it from your mouth. This will prevent more intense brain freeze and give your mouth time to recover from contact with the cold food.[6]
    • You can then wait it out and let your mouth and brain recover from the brain freeze on their own.

Things You'll Need

  • A warm beverage like tea, coffee, or warm water.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ice-cream-headaches/basics/symptoms/con-20024906
  2. ↑ http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sphenopalatine+Ganglioneuralgia
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.thekitchn.com/the-science-of-brain-freeze-the-atlantic-171476
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://icecreamjournal.turkeyhill.com/index.php/2012/08/01/the-turkey-hill-interns-test-eight-brain-freeze-cures/
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522095335.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.npr.org/sections/waitwait/2012/01/20/145532490/how-to-cure-brain-freeze

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