The clocks go back this Sunday, 25 October 2026, and that extra hour of sleep rarely feels like the gift it promises. If the clock change flattens you every year, you're not being dramatic: your body clock genuinely needs time to catch up.

In this episode of Smiley Frequency, I share four small, practical steps to protect your sleep, energy and routine as the dark evenings arrive:

• Shift your bedtime early, and shift it small

• Protect your wake-up time

• Chase the daylight you do have

• Rebuild a calm wind-down hour

I also talk about how the first dark evenings affect me personally, and why preparing for them beats fighting winter.

Read the full guide, including a 10-day clock-change plan, on Italian Girl Touch: https://www.italiangirltouch.com/2026/10/clocks-go-back-2026-how-to-adjust-your.html

If low mood or heavy fatigue lasts for weeks, please speak to your GP or a healthcare professional.

Smiley Frequency is the podcast for personal growth and authentic happiness, hosted by Gilda Notarbartolo, certified journalist and founder of Italian Girl Touch.

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Your autumn's fresh start fizzled? You haven't failed.

In this episode, Gilda Notarbartolo shares a gentler, science-backed way to build a routine that actually sticks: the October reset.

Discover why October is a better moment to start than September, what University College London research really says about how long habits take, and three simple tools you can begin tonight: the Minimum Viable Routine, habit anchoring (BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits method) and the "bad-day" version of your routine.

Plus a personal story about what happens to Gilda's routine every time she goes home to her family in Southern Italy.

Read the full article and 7-day starter plan: https://www.italiangirltouch.com/2026/10/the-october-reset-how-to-build-routine.html

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/b406f238a373/6to3kpanoz Blog: https://www.italiangirltouch.com

Smiley Frequency is a podcast devoted to personal growth and authentic happiness, hosted by Gilda Notarbartolo, certified journalist and founder of Italian Girl Touch.

September and autumn bring a lovely fresh energy, but also that quiet, lingering pressure to overhaul our lives overnight. We try to do everything at once, and by mid-October, we are simply exhausted.

In this episode of Smiley Frequency, we discuss how to leverage the psychology of the Fresh Start Effect using the 1% Rule - a gentle, intentional approach to clearing physical and mental space without the burnout.

✨ Resources mentioned in this episode:

🎥 YouTube Video + Island Vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QZ2BJ2K-X4&list=PLD8ARl-pWi44

📲 Free Italian Girl Touch App (Meditations & Journaling):

💌 Email me: gilda@italiangirltouch.com

Tune into your happiness and allow yourself the permission to breathe. Enjoy listening! 🌸

www.italiangirltouch.com