Currently submitted to: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Jul 8, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 17, 2026 - Sep 11, 2026
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Association Between AIM7 Pickleball App Use and Subjective Well-Being in Physically Active Adults: A Retrospective Study.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Physical activity and digital health technologies have independently been associated with improvements in physical and psychological well-being. Pickleball, one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, may provide unique psychosocial and wellness benefits through recreational exercise and social engagement. However, limited evidence exists regarding the association between sport-specific digital health apps and subjective well-being.
Objective:
This retrospective study evaluated whether use of the AIM7 pickleball training app was associated with longitudinal changes in self-reported well-being metrics among physically active adults.
Methods:
De-identified user-reported data were analyzed over a 3-month period. Users who reported at least six subjective well-being entries within each study month were included in the analysis. Daily self-reported metrics included sleep quality, mood, energy, motivation, stress, and soreness using 10-point Likert scales. Longitudinal changes were assessed using mixed-effects models with repeated measures. Sensitivity analyses additionally adjusted for age and gender.
Results:
A total of 560 users met the monthly reporting threshold in Month 1, compared with 44 users in Month 2 and 19 users in Month 3. Significant improvements were observed from Month 1 to Month 2 across all six well-being domains. Stress decreased by 32% and soreness decreased by 24%, while sleep quality, mood, energy, and motivation increased by 30%, 19%, 19%, and 19%, respectively (all P<.001). No significant differences were observed between Months 2 and 3 for any outcome. Greater app engagement during the first month was associated with larger improvements in all six well-being domains (all P<.05).
Conclusions:
The use of the AIM7 pickleball training app was associated with improvements in multiple domains of subjective well-being among physically active adults. These findings suggest that sport-specific digital health platforms may support physical and psychological well-being among physically active adults and recreational athletes. Clinical Trial: n/a
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