Why when we take ice cream or cold drinks we have the feeling that our brain hurts (and how to avoid it)

Woman taking ice cream — Photo foot, He *brain freeze* It is a short -term front or temporary pain, which can be intense, induced in people susceptible to the passage of cold material on the palate and/or the posterior pharyngeal wall.

- Author, José Miguel Soriano del Castillo
- Author's title, The Conversation*
25 julio 2025

You are taking a granity or bruises an ice cream too fast and, suddenly, you feel acute, frozen and sharp pain, as brief as intense, that crosses your forehead.

According to the international classification of headache disorders, it is a “cold stimulus headache”, also known as the headache by ice cream (in English brain freeze). And although it seems trivial, it reveals a surprising neurological and medical complexity.

In recent years, several investigations have revealed that this small “summer pain” could teach us about the treatment of migraines, brain reactions to cold and, incredibly, how to protect the brain in critical situations.

A signal to the brain

He brain freeze It is the frontal or temporary pain of short duration, which can be intense, induced in people susceptible by the passage of cold material (solid, liquid or gaseous) on the palate and/or the posterior pharyngeal wall.

This change in so abrupt temperature causes vasoconstriction, followed by vasodilation in the blood vessels of the area. The trigeminal nerve, which connects the face with the brain, interprets this change as a thermal threat, and launches a sign of “pain” into the brain.

Children eating ice cream — Photo foot, The prevalence of this phenomenon varies in a range of 15 to 37% in the general population, but it is significantly higher in children and adolescents

The curious thing is that we do not feel in the mouth, but on the forehead or temples. It is what is called referred pain: the brain misunderstands the source of the stimulus, something very common in other types of visceral pain.

An article published in Critical Care Medicine In 2010 – with the provocative title “Can An Ice Cream Headache Save Your Life?” (Can a headache for ice cream save his life?) – He suggested that the mechanisms behind the brain freeze They could inspire clinical strategies to protect the brain after cardiac arrest, using therapeutic hypothermia.

This type of rapid neurovascular reactions would help regulate intracranial pressure, cerebral blood flow and autonomous reflexes.

In other words, ice cream can activate routes that doctors try to replicate in a controlled way of intensive care.

A pain that says more than it seems

A revision article published in 2023 examined the involvement in this phenomenon of deep structures of the skull such as the trigeminal nerve and the sphenopalatine ganglion, both known for being involved in migraines, headaches in cluster and facial neuralgia.

In addition, multiple works have shown that the painful response to cold could reveal hypersensitivity of the trigeminal system, especially in predisposed people.

The prevalence of this phenomenon varies in a range of 15 to 37 % in the general population, but is significantly higher in children and adolescents, reaching figures between 40.6 % and 79 %, according to data collected in scientific literature.

Man with headache — Photo foot, Cold stimulus pain has a strong relationship with a history of migraine.

A German key study conducted with students from 10 to 14 years, parents and teachers, showed a 62 % prevalence in minors and 31 % in adults. This difference could be due to a combination of factors: behavioral learning to avoid painful triggers, greater neuronal stability against cold with anatomical age and differences that make children more susceptible to rapid stimulation of cold receptors.

On the other hand, cold stimulus pain has a strong relationship with a history of migraine. People afflicted by this type of pain have prevalence between 55.2 %and 73.7 %, well above those who suffer tension headaches (23-45.5 %).

A study even revealed a surprising prevalence of 94 % in people with a history of puncture headache. This suggests that brain freeze It could serve as an indirect clinical marker of an augmented trigeminal sensitivity, shared with other more disabling headaches.

Other identified risk factors include a history of cranial trauma and, especially, family history: children of parents with cold stimulus have a significantly greater risk of developing it. If the mother has suffered it, the risk is multiplied by 10.7 and if it is the father, by 8.4.

All these data reveal that what is often perceived as a simple “ice cream pain” is, in fact, an expression of complex neurological processes.

Far from being banal, it could help to better understand pain thresholds and predisposition to broader neurosensorial disorders.

Is it dangerous?

In general, no. It is a benign, self -limited phenomenon without medical consequences. However, there is an extraordinary clinical case, published in 1999 in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathologywhere a young man collapsed after drinking very cold water.

The forensic suspected an extreme vagal reflection as a cause of death, not a brain freeze Classic, but an uncontrolled regional response in an extreme heat context and physiological predisposition.

This isolated event serves more to show the body's ability to react drastically to extreme stimuli than to generate alarm on ice cream or cold drinks.

How to avoid it?

The good news is that this peculiar headache can be avoided with some simple strategies.

The most effective is to eat or drink slowly. When we eat cold food at high speed, the thermal stimulus in the palate is too abrupt so that the body compensates for it, activating the painful response.

Woman drinking a cold soda — Photo foot, Drinking slowly or using a straw helps minimize the impact of cold on the palate.

It is also important to prevent matter at low temperature directly touching the upper palate, since this area is highly vascularized and close to the trigeminal nerve path. Using a straw, keeping the liquid in the tongue before swallowing or not letting the ice cream melt too fast in the mouth can help.

And if the pain has already begun, there is a simple trick: press the tongue against the roof of the mouth. This contact helps restore temperature and relieve discomfort in seconds.

So the next time a spoonful of ice cream freezes your forehead, remember: You are not exaggerating. Your nervous system is rehearsing an answer that scientists are still trying to decipher … and perhaps to take advantage of.

*José Miguel Soriano del Castillo is Professor of Nutrition and Bromatology of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Valencia, Spain.