Background: Gratitude interventions are used to cultivate a sense of gratitude for life and others. There have been mixed results of the efficacy of gratitude interventions’ effect on psychological well-being with a variety of populations and methodologies. Objectives: The objective of our study was to test the effectiveness of a gratitude intervention smartphone app on university students’ psychological well-being. Methods: We used a randomized experimental design to test our objective. Participants were recruited undergraduate students from a web-based university study recruitment system. Participants completed 90 web-based survey questions on their emotional well-being and personality traits at the beginning and end of the 3-week research period. Their depression, anxiety, and stress levels were measured with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). After the baseline survey, participants were randomly assigned to either the control or the intervention. Participants in the intervention group used both a fully automated mobile sensing app and a gratitude intervention mobile iOS smartphone app designed for youth users and based on previous gratitude interventions and exercises. The gratitude intervention app prompted users to complete daily gratitude exercises on the app including a gratitude journal, a gratitude photo book, an imagine exercise, a speech exercise, and meditation. Participants in the control group used only the mobile sensing app, which passively collected smartphone sensory data on mobility, screen time, sleep, and social interactions. Results: A total of 120 participants met the inclusion criteria, and 27 were lost to follow-up for a total of 41 participants in the intervention group and 52 in the control group providing complete data. Based on clinical cutoffs from the baseline assessment, 56 out of 120 participants were identified as being in a subsample with at least moderate baseline symptomatology. Participants in the subsample with at least moderate baseline symptomatology reported significantly lower symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress postintervention (Cohen d =−0.68; P =.04) but not in the full sample with low baseline symptomatology (Cohen d =0.16; P =.46). The number of times the app was accessed was not correlated with changes in either the subsample ( r =0.01; P =.98) or the full sample ( r =−0.04; P =.79). Conclusions: University students experiencing moderate to severe distress can benefit from a gratitude intervention smartphone app to improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. The number of times the gratitude intervention app was used is not related to well-being outcomes. Clinicians could look at incorporating gratitude apps with other mental health treatments or for those waitlisted as a cost-effective and minimally guided option for university students experiencing psychological distress.

Dream recall frequency and lucid dream frequency showed large inter-individual differences that are partly related to personality dimensions. However, as dream research is a small field, independent studies are necessary to build a solid empirical foundation. The present online survey included 1,537 participants (1150 women, 387 men) with a mean age of 35.1 ± 15.8 years. Whereas the relationship between openness to experience and dream recall frequency was in line with previous research – supporting the life-style hypothesis of dream recall, the associations between the Big Five personality factors and lucid dream frequency are less homogenous; for example, the negative relationship between neuroticism and lucid dream frequency. Even though the effect sizes of these associations are small, the findings can help in identifying links between waking and dreaming. Moreover, it was found that lucid dream frequency was related to Covid-19-related worries, whereas dream recall frequency was not.

Representative surveys indicated that the attitude towards dreams varies greatly: some participants agreed to statements like “Dreams are random nonsense” but others expressed more positive attitudes that dreams might be beneficial. The present online study (N = 1,507 participants) elicited attitude towards dreams, personality (Big Five factors), current psychopathology, and COVID19-related worries. As expected, the present study showed that openness to experiences, but also current psychopathology and worries were associated with more positive attitudes towards dreams. This might indicate that persons with problems might turn to dreams, as they might be beneficial with coping those problems. Longitudinal studies might validate the idea that experiencing beneficial effects of dreams, for example, within a therapeutic setting, might affect the attitude towards dreams in a positive way. And, if persons with problems turn to dreams, it would be very helpful to include the tool of working with dreams in current psychotherapy practice.