👉 The last one is the most important. ad The reason is that it will have the most fast acting and dramatic impact on your mental health if you are not getting enough. That’s why it is always a priority in therapy. But sleep cannot do it all alone. All of these defences play their crucial roles in maintaining good health so in therapy I tend to try and keep them all on the radar because they are the first things we let slide when life is busy and demanding. And what a better time to be talking about how important sleep is when the clocks are about to go forward here in the UK. This is why I’m proud to have partnered with @Samsung since trying out the Samsung Galaxy Watch6. Despite being a clinical psychologist and knowing all the things I should ideally be doing for my health, I am also a working parent of three small children and over the last 10 years I have seen each one of my own core defences put under strain. Like many others with lots of responsibilities I simply didn’t have the headspace for unravelling what needed my attention and where to start. It wasn’t until I had something that didn’t interfere with my day to quietly keep track of these things behind the scenes that I started to feel the influence of the daily reminders to make small, simple changes to improve my health. Since talking on here about my own personal efforts to improve my sleep, I also get a lot of people asking about my morning routine. There is a huge trend online of individuals talking about their preferred alarm sound, suggesting that calmer, more pleasant sounds lift your mood for the morning while a noisy alarm makes them feel irritable and stressed. I have to say there is no research on this just yet, but I personally like to use a sunrise alarm so that I gradually wake up as my room gets increasingly brighter. Then I always use The Homecoming alarm tune that doesn’t make me jump out of my skin, just gives me a nudge to let me know it’s time to get up. So I am in agreement with the crowds on this one. I am never going to be a leap out of bed type person. I need to be woken up gently so I can start the day calm. - @drjulie