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Hangry Holidays: How Skipping Meals Triggers Headaches and Ruins Your Festive Fun

The only thing worse than the Grinch stealing Christmas? An uninvited headache from skipping breakfast and lunch just to overindulge at festive dinners. And nobody wants that! Let’s explore some common holiday habits we’re all guilty of, how skipping meals affects your brain, and practical tips to protect your holiday spirit. Because the best gift we can give ourselves is feeling good.

Assorted gingerbread cookies shaped as trees, reindeer, and people with white icing on a white plate. Festive and cheerful setting.
WHAT you eat can also cause headaches. We recommend starting with vegetables, fats, and proteins before indulging in sweets that can spike glucose and trigger a headache.

The Holiday Meal Trap

You’ve been up since the crack of dawn, working on pies, casseroles, hams, and the turkey. You’re fueled by caffeine because your family will be visiting soon, but you still have to tidy the house, finish wrapping gifts, and get yourself ready. You’ve been on the go since Thanksgiving, and you can’t remember the last time you sat down and had a moment to breathe.


You notice a faint rumbling in your stomach and realize it’s almost 2 p.m., and the last thing you ate was a gingerbread cookie with a few glasses of eggnog the night before. Then an all-too-familiar pressure begins to swell on one side of your head. You think to yourself, “Dinner is in a couple of hours; I can hold off.”  But the uninvited headache makes its grand appearance!


How Skipping Meals Affects Your Brain

While many believe they’re saving their appetite for the main course, they’re actually fueling an impending headache by depriving themselves of the necessary fuel they need: glucose. Glucose (or blood sugar) is the primary and preferred fuel source for brain function, so it’s important to maintain adequate levels (Ritter, 2017).


When our fuel source begins to run low, we enter a state known as hypoglycemia (also called low blood sugar). Hypoglycemia can trigger the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline—two things we definitely don’t need during the holidays, which are stressful enough already (Legesse et al., 2025).


Symptoms of hypoglycemia include feeling:

● Shaky or jittery

● Hungry

● Tired

● Dizzy, lightheaded, confused, or irritable

● Headache


Practical Tips to Prevent Holiday Headaches

Experiencing hypoglycemia is not fun for you or for those around you, and it can easily sour a festive occasion. To avoid a Scrooge-like headache this holiday season, remember these practical tips:


1. Eat balanced meals and snacks throughout the day

No, a cup of coffee is not a balanced meal! Your body needs more than caffeine—it needs carbs, healthy fats, fiber, and protein.Balanced meal ideas include:

  • Veggie Egg Scramble: eggs, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, whole-grain toast, and avocado

  • Nourish Bowl: quinoa or brown rice, grilled chicken or tofu, roasted veggies, and an olive oil–based dressing

  • Snack ideas include an apple with nut butter, hummus with veggie sticks, or trail mix.


2. Hydrate

With traveling, busy schedules, and more stress than usual, it’s important to stay on top of your hydration. In between the glasses of eggnog and coffee, incorporate a few glasses of water to help prevent headaches and support digestion before and after festive meals.


3. Practice mindful eating at dinner

While it’s tempting to load your plate with a little bit of everything and scarf it all down, remember to take it slow—chew thoroughly and take plenty of breaths. When you finally get to sit down after hours of cooking and baking, enjoy the moment and the people you’re surrounded by.


Cheers to Feeling Good All Season Long

My gift to you this holiday season is a reminder to honor your hunger, no matter how hectic things get. Stay consistent with eating, hydrate in between the fun, and appreciate the hard work you’ve put in this year. We all deserve a few minutes to honor our cues.


With these tips in mind, don’t let that Grinch of a headache steal your holiday cheer!


If you need additional support with nutrition this season, schedule a FREE 15-minute Meet N’ Greet with me to get started!



Author: Melanie Baughman





References: 


  1. Legesse, S. M., Addila, A. E., Jena, B. H., Jikamo, B., Abdissa, Z. D., & Hailemarim, T. (2025). Irregular meal and migraine headache: a scoping review. BMC nutrition, 11(1), 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-025-01048-8 

  2. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (n.d.). Low blood glucose (hypoglycemia). NIDDK. 

    https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/preventing-problems/low-blood glucose-hypoglycemia 

  3. Ritter, S. (2017). Monitoring and maintenance of brain glucose supply: Importance of hindbrain catecholamine neurons in this multifaceted task. In R. B. S. Harris (Ed.), Appetite and food intake: Central control (2nd ed., Chap. 9). CRC Press/Taylor & Francis. 

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK453140/https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315120171-9


Disclaimer: This information is generalized and intended for educational purposes only. Due to potential individual contraindications, please see your primary care provider before implementing any strategies in these posts.

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