Your first light will bloom here.
This week’s constellation
Monday to Sunday, in light. Tap a day to remember it.
Only the lights are shared. Your words stay private.
A Little More Sky ✦
It takes about a minute. Nothing is counted, and your words stay private.
A Little More Sky adds one reminder to your calendar each night. You can move or delete it there anytime.
add to my calendarSo you never lose a light. If you change phones or delete the app, sign in with your email and every light comes back.
No password. Your lights stay private. How we keep them private
We sent you a 6-digit code.
Every light saves on its own from now on. On a new phone, tap the cloud at the top and use this same email.
This permanently deletes your account and every light we keep for you. The lights on this phone stay here unless you erase them.
small is perfect
Why pick one? People who can name exactly what they feel handle stress better.
Press and hold. Let it land.
Why hold? Your brain is like Velcro for bad moments and Teflon for good ones. A few extra seconds helps the good stick.
Our philosophy, and the science underneath it
A Little More Sky looks like art. Underneath, every tap, hold and breath comes from research on gratitude, memory and emotion. Here is what each one does, and the study behind it.
Nothing here is counted. No streaks, no scores, no reminders that you missed a day.
The research
Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky asked students to write down five things they were grateful for. One group did it once a week. The other did it three times a week. After six weeks, the once-a-week group was happier. The three-times-a-week group got no benefit. Her best guess: doing it too often turned it into a chore.
So come when something actually glowed. That’s the practice.
You pick one word: warmth, delight, ease, awe, pride or hope.
The research
Scientists call this “emotional granularity.” It means telling your feelings apart instead of calling everything “good.” In a 2004 study, people who were better at telling their good feelings apart were better at handling stress.
The six words come from psychologist Barbara Fredrickson’s list of the ten most common positive emotions. Pride is about what you did. Hope is about what’s coming. Both remind you that you have a hand in your own life.
Over time, you learn which kinds of joy your life is made of.
You press and hold while your light fills, about ten slow seconds, and picture the moment again. The light swells for four seconds and softens for six.
The research
Holding a good moment on purpose is called savoring. In a 2012 study, 101 people reported on their days for a month. The people who stopped to savor their good moments got the biggest mood lift from them.
The rhythm is on purpose too. If your breath follows the light, you get a long, slow exhale. In a 2023 Stanford study, people did five minutes of breathing a day for a month. Breathing with a long, slow exhale lifted their mood more than mindfulness meditation did, and slowed their breathing.
Ten seconds is enough for a good moment to actually land.
Tap any flower and hold it. Each time you do, it glows a little brighter for good.
The research
In a 2005 study, students spent ten minutes twice a day for a week remembering happy times. By the end of the week, they felt happy more of the time than students who thought about their current worries. The students who pictured the memory in their mind got the biggest boost, more than the ones who looked at souvenirs.
When you hold an old moment, picture it. Where were you? What did you hear?
Now and then, an old moment shoots across your sky. Once a day, one finds you when you open the app.
The research
We get used to good things fast. Psychologists call it “hedonic adaptation.” After LASIK surgery, Lyubomirsky could see clearly for the first time since she was 12. Within a week, she was taking it for granted.
Surprise breaks the habit of taking good things for granted. An old moment that appears out of nowhere feels new again.
Some moments belong to a season of your life. You might outgrow one, finish a chapter, or simply feel ready to set it free. You can release it to the sky.
The research
Memories change as we do. A recent study found that nostalgic memories often become more bittersweet over time. Choosing which moments to keep close is part of growing.
Before a moment leaves, you take one breath of thanks. That comes from a 2008 study: people who wrote about how they might never have met their partner felt more satisfied with their relationship than people who wrote about how they did meet. Imagining life without a good thing makes you more grateful that you had it.
Letting go is a sign of growth, not loss. It makes room for what’s next. Nothing is erased: it becomes a star, and you can bring it back anytime.
The light follows your real sunrise and sunset. The moon is the real moon, where it really is.
The research
In a 2020 study, older adults took a 15-minute walk once a week for eight weeks. Half of them were asked to look for awe along the way. That group felt more joy on their walks and more gratitude in daily life. Even their smiles in their walk selfies got bigger.
A small dose of awe, every time you open the app. Then look up from your phone at the real one.
Sources
Tugade, Fredrickson & Barrett (2004), positive emotional granularity
Fredrickson’s ten positive emotions
Jose, Lim & Bryant (2012), savoring and daily happiness
Balban et al. (2023), exhale-focused breathing and mood
Bryant, Smart & King (2005), positive reminiscence
Wildschut, Sedikides et al., nostalgia grows bittersweet over time
One calendar reminder each night, at the time you choose.
To open A Little More Sky somewhere new, copy your sky here, then paste it into the new place. Every moment comes with you, including your stars.