What Causes the Brain to Freeze

What causes brain freeze? When your body senses sudden, extreme cold in the mouth or throat, it tries to react and warm up. Blood vessels throughout the head expand to let extra blood into the area for warmth. That quick change in blood vessel size causes sudden pain.

What triggers brain freeze?

Brain freeze occurs when something extremely cold touches the upper palate (roof of the mouth). It typically happens when the weather is very hot, and the individual consumes something cold too fast.

Can brain freeze harm you?

If you mean ‘ice-cream headache’, then no, brain freeze can’t cause brain damage. That pain is either caused by stimulation of the trigeminal nerve in the roof of your mouth or by cold air in your sinuses resulting in an abrupt contraction of the blood vessels in your forehead (similar to the way migraines are caused).