There are a few theories as to why the blood rushes to your brain’s frontal lobe (the area near your forehead) when you’re slurping something sub-zero, says lead researcher Jorge Serrador, MD, of Harvard Medical School and the War Related Illness and Injury Center. “One theory is that it’s a relationship with the trigeminal nerve, which runs through the upper palate of your mouth. When something cold hits it, it may directly increase blood flow to your brain,” he says. Another theory is that a huge gulp of an ice-cold drink cools your blood; your body’s quick attempt to warm up again is what causes the pain. This recent insight on brain freezes may give new clues on how to treat other types of headaches, like migraines, says Dr. Serrador. “One of the hardest parts about studying headaches is that it’s hard to have them occur in a lab setting, but a brain-freeze is pretty straight-forward to induce,” he says. (At least there’s some good to so much pain!) Here’s how to lick an ice-cream headache: Take it slow. Pacing matters: These annoying aches happen when there’s an onslaught of cold hitting the roof of your mouth at one time, so the key is taking it easy when licking a frozen treat—easier said than done, we know. This will allow your body to slowly acclimate to the food’s cold temperatures, as well as warm it up a bit. Skip the straw. When you’re sipping from a straw, the ice-cold beverage has a direct line to the upper palate of your mouth, exactly the area that sets off a brain freeze. “If you think about it, a straw shoots the liquid to exactly the wrong place, so it might be better to drink without using one,” says Dr. Serrador. Sip some caffeine. “There’s some evidence that you can get a reduction in brain blood flow with caffeine,” says Dr. Serrador. So one idea, which still needs to be further researched, is that having caffeine before indulging in something ice-cold may cut your risk of getting these aggravating aches. Put your tongue to good use. You just couldn’t help yourself (been there, done that), and now you’ve got the freeze! Pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth may shorten the duration of these types of headaches, says Lee Peterlin, MD, director of headache research at Johns Hopkins. More from Prevention: Your Body’s 10 Weirdest Health Clues
