Sand sports and mental health: a theoretical proposal

The aim of this study was to propose a theoretical approach aimed at better understanding the relationship between sand sports and mental health, mainly through aspects of socialization. To this end, a narrative review was carried out in the PubMed, Scielo and Web of Science databases and in books related to the topic, thus presenting a theoretical proposal. The results show that just as physical activity provides benefits for mental health in terms of neurobiological, psychophysiological and social aspects, sand sports, as a sport, can also improve clinical conditions for mental disorders. In particular, this study hypothesizes that, possibly, the social aspects present in sand sports could be the greatest ally of positive responses in terms of mental health. However, this hypothesis needs further support from empirical studies. It is therefore suggested that future studies investigate this phenomenon cross-sectionally and longitudinally in order to gain a better understanding.