• Posted February 11, 2026

Brief, Intense Exercise Beats Relaxation for Panic Relief

While relaxation techniques are often recommended for panic disorder, leaning into those intense physical sensations through exercise may be the superior treatment.

A study published Feb. 8 in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry found that brief, intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise were significantly more effective at reducing the severity and frequency of panic attacks than standard relaxation techniques. 

The researchers, from the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, say this approach appears to work by helping patients build a tolerance to the very symptoms that trigger their fear.

For people living with panic disorder, the sensation of a racing heart or shortness of breath can feel like a life-threatening emergency. 

These frequent and unexpected panic attacks affect roughly 2.7% of the U.S. population, often making daily life feel like a minefield of potential triggers.

The current gold standard for treatment of the disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which uses a technique called interoceptive exposure. 

This involves intentionally triggering physical symptoms — like a racing heart — in a controlled environment to show the brain they are harmless.

Traditionally, therapists have used artificial methods like having patients spin in a chair or breathe rapidly to trigger symptoms.

However, this study suggests that a 12-week program of intense exercise is a more natural and effective way to achieve the same goal of triggering panic-like symptoms and re-setting the brain to view them as not harmful. 

“Here we show that a 12-week program of brief intense intermittent exercise can be used as an interoceptive exposure strategy to treat panic disorder patients,” lead author Ricardo William Muotri said in a news release. He’s with the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of São Paulo.

For the trial, 102 adults were split into two groups. One group practiced progressive muscle relaxation (deep breathing followed by tensing and relaxing muscle groups), while the other engaged in exercise sessions consisting of 15 minutes of walking followed by several 30-second high-intensity sprints, recovery periods and then walking at the end of each session. 

None were taking medications for panic disorder.

At six months, the exercise group showed much steeper declines in panic symptoms, anxiety and depression. 

Because the exercise group reported enjoying the sessions more than the relaxation group, researchers think those patients are more likely to stay committed to exercise treatment long-term.

“Health care professionals can adopt brief intermittent intense exercise as a natural and low-cost interoceptive exposure strategy,” Muotri said. He noted that because this can happen outside of a clinic, it brings the exposure closer to the patient's everyday life.

More information

The National Institute of Mental Health provides more information on recognizing and treating panic disorder.

SOURCE: Frontiers, news release, Feb. 9, 2026