Sugar, Excitement, and Regulation: A Holiday Trifecta - Part 1

It starts innocently enough: a cookie here, a candy cane there, a full room of cousins, jingles, and general chaos — and suddenly, the nervous system has entered the chat.
The holidays are basically a sensory relay race with no baton handoff: sugar spikes, excitement overload, bright lights, and constant motion. For most brains, it’s fun and exhausting; for neurodiverse ones, it’s an Olympic event in regulation.

This isn’t about banning sugar or dampening joy — it’s about understanding what’s actually happening under all that sparkle, so we can keep the fun and the calm.

Sugar, excitement, and chaos walk into a party… and the nervous system pretends to take a phone call.

✨ One thing to remember

Excitement is a regulation disruptor.
Sugar is a regulation disruptor.
Holiday environments are regulation disruptors.

Put all three together and… well… you’ve probably lived it.

Many neurodiverse individuals, including those with FASD, experience bigger swings in energy, attention, and emotional responses when sensory load and sugar intake increase. Their nervous systems are already working hard — sugar just throws in another plot twist.

This isn’t about demonizing treats.
It’s about understanding why things might feel more wobbly than usual.

✨ One thing to release

Release the pressure to keep up with the holiday snack free-for-all.
You don’t need to offer endless treats to make the season magical (that’s a myth sold to us by TV specials and gingerbread marketing teams).

You’re not being “restrictive” or “too careful.”
You’re regulating inputs so your loved one can show up as their best self — and so you don’t spend three hours trying to talk someone down from a peppermint-fueled emotional cliff.

✨ One thing that may help today

Use the “pair and plan” approach:
Pair the treat with something filling or grounding, and plan when it happens.

Examples:

• Have a small treat right after a meal instead of on an empty stomach.

• Offer a cozy, predictable activity after sugar (puzzles, quiet play, a calm TV show).

• Create a simple “treat schedule” so your loved one knows when treats happen — and doesn’t spend the whole day negotiating.

These tiny shifts help regulate blood sugar, reduce spikes in energy and emotion, and support smoother transitions throughout the day.