Why Do You Get 'Brain Freeze'?

Have you ever eaten ice cream too fast and felt a sudden sharp pain in your forehead? That is called brain freeze. It happens because the roof of your mouth has special sensors that feel cold.

When cold food touches these sensors, they tell your brain it is freezing inside. Your blood vessels react by getting wider very quickly to warm up. This sudden change squeezes the nerves and causes pain. The good news is that it goes away in seconds if you press your tongue against the roof of your mouth.