There’s nothing that kills the joy of otherwise refreshingly cold summertime treats like the dreaded Brain Freeze. Also called “Ice Cream Headache” or “Frozen Brain Syndrome,” this painful, migraine-like sensation affects over 30% of the slushi-slurping population. 7-Eleven even registered the term “Brain Freeze” in 1994 to “communicate the painful joy of drinking a frozen Slurpee beverage.” (True story, I promise you.) But what exactly causes this pain? Is it dangerous? Is there any way to avoid it? I’m glad you asked. Read on, dear friend…

The pain of Brain Freeze is a chain reaction that begins when the offending substance touches the mid palate of the mouth, where the spheno-palatine nerve - a part of a bundle of nerves that run from the face into the brain – resides. When this nerve is cooled too rapidly, it relays a danger signal to the brain that the head is going to become chilled. In response, the body automatically dilates the blood vessels in the head to allow larger amounts of warm blood to flow there, in an attempt to re-heat the area. The resulting head-pounding pain, sometimes accompanied by a fear of the eyeballs actually bursting from their sockets, usually affects the midfrontal section of the noggin and dissipates within 30 seconds. Some unfortunate souls can feel the pain for up to five minutes, and some disturbed individuals actually find the sensation pleasurable. Interestingly, 90% of people that suffer from recurrent migraine headaches, vascular headaches associated with changes in brain blood vessel size, also experience Brain Freeze.

Though Brain Freeze is extremely uncomfortable, it is a perfectly safe, natural phenomenon. Some experts suggest that its affects can be alleviated or reduced by pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth, sipping a warm beverage, or simply eating that chilly treat more slowly. Incidents of Brain Freeze are reported mostly in the summertime months, leading to more than a little scientific debate… Perhaps people just eat more cold treats when it’s hot outside. But I’m no expert.

So you don’t have to give up your ice cream, gelato, sorbet, or other chilled delight. Brain Freeze is not life-threatening and may even serve the purpose of giving one a sympathetic glimpse of what a migraine-sufferer experiences. Furthermore, pleasure is always worth a little pain, is it not?