The theory has been tested on 24 people with panic disorder and agoraphobia, a fear of public spaces, who had three weekly therapy sessions which used ‘exposure therapy’, where a patient is put into a situation that can induce panic or fear.
Although all the patients improved over the three weeks, the greatest improvements were achieved in sessions that took place in the morning. Researchers from the Southern Methodist University reckon that the success was due to the patients’ higher levels of cortisol, although they accept that other factors could also be at play, such as having better attention following a good night’s sleep.
(Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2016; 74: 197)
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