Overview
- In a randomized controlled study from the University of São Paulo, 102 adults with panic disorder were assigned to either brief intermittent intense exercise or relaxation therapy for 12 weeks, with three supervised sessions per week and no medications.
- Change in panic severity over 24 weeks on the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale, assessed by a blinded psychiatrist, favored the exercise group with steeper and sustained improvements.
- Participants in the exercise arm also showed greater reductions in anxiety and depression scores and reported fewer and less severe panic attacks than those in the relaxation arm.
- The interoceptive exposure protocol combined stretching, 15 minutes of walking, one to six 30‑second high‑intensity running bouts separated by 4.5‑minute active recovery, and a concluding 15‑minute walk.
- Authors say participants enjoyed the exercise regimen more and propose it as a low‑cost, non‑clinical interoceptive exposure option within CBT‑based care; the findings are published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.