“Brain Freeze”: How to explain this feeling of pain when drinking a cold drink?

With the arrival of warmer weather, slushies and ice creams are making a comeback, which also means the return of the dreaded "brain freeze"!

This unpleasant and intense sensation that you feel when you eat food that is too cold is also called ice cream headache or sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.

How does it work?

If you drink your slush too quickly this summer, don't be surprised if you experience a sudden headache.

This brain freeze occurs when your palate comes into contact with an icy substance.

If your palate cools too quickly, the blood vessels in your mouth will constrict to "try to keep warm," Dr. Johanne Lévesque explained to Benoit Dutrizac on QUB, broadcast on 99.5 FM Montreal.

• Listen to Benoit Dutrizac's segment on 99.5 FM Montreal here:

Rapidly, the blood vessels will constrict, followed by sudden dilation, to ensure adequate blood flow, which creates the sensation of pain.

Then, it is the trigeminal nerve that will transmit the sensation of pain directly to the brain.

"It's really the transition from contraction to rapid dilation that creates this pain," adds the neuropsychologist and founder of Neurodezign.

The risks?

However, if you feel pain in your forehead, temple, or nose, don't panic. Your brain's temperature remains constant. "It's not related; it's just your brain that's mixed up," she says.

Although unpleasant, this reaction does not involve neurons and there is no health risk.

"It's just unpleasant. You can have it all summer long and it won't change your functioning," confirms Dr. Lévesque.