Mountain sport activities, affective state, and mental health – A narrative review

Abstract

A large body of literature indicates that physical activity in general is associated with a variety of health benefits. Mountain sport activities (e.g., mountain hiking, climbing, mountaineering, or skiing) are considered popular modalities of physical activity in both inhabitants of and tourists in mountainous areas. In addition, the majority of mountain sport activities show characteristics that may be favorable for a positive influence on mental health. However, the potential of mountain sport activities on mental health parameters (including, but not limited to affective state, stress, coping abilities, self-efficacy, and quality of life) has been less researched compared to non-mountain sport activities.

Therefore, the aims of the present narrative review are to identify characteristics of mountain sport activities related to potential influences on mental health and to summarize current findings on the acute and longer-term effects of sport activities in mountainous areas on affective state and on mental health in general. Furthermore, hypotheses aiming to explain these effects are discussed.

Although mountain sport activities show a large diversity in their features, many modalities share characteristics that can be considered relevant in the context of both short-term effects on affective states and of longer-term effects on mental health (Figure 1). Already existing secondary literature focusing specifically on mountain sport activities is limited to one systematic review in the context of mountaineering (Jackman et al., 2020) and one narrative review on health effects of skiing (Burtscher et al., 2019). Original articles for acute effects on affective state and for longer-term effects on mental health parameters were found for mountaineering/alpine climbing, sport climbing, mountain hiking, skiing, and mountain biking. In summary, it can be said that single bouts of mountain sport activities have the potential to positively influence affective state. Observations on negative affective state during the activity are explained by the focus that the participants need to overcome the challenges during the activities. Positive longer-term effects on mental health by mountain sport activity programs are reported in literature. Negative effects on mental health are reported less frequently and occur primarily in the case of accidents or are related to the strenuous experiences during mountaineering expeditions.

Potential benefits of mountain sport activities can be explained using approaches related to the physical activity (similar to non-mountain sport activities, e.g., self-efficacy hypothesis) and the environmental conditions in which the activities are practiced (e.g., attention restoration theory). However, the number of studies on hypotheses explaining mental health effects is limited. In addition, not all modalities of mountain sport activities are represented in the literature. In particular, mechanistic considerations of the decisive factors in the various mountain sport activities that can influence mental health would be desirable.

References

Burtscher, M., Federolf, P. A., Nachbauer, W., & Kopp, M. (2019). Potential health benefits from downhill skiing. Frontiers in Physiology, 9, Article 1924. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01924

Jackman, P. C., Hawkins, R. M., Burke, S. M., Swann, C., & Crust, L. (2020). The psychology of mountaineering: A systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16(1), 27-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2020.1824242