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Anxiety is like your sixth sense; it can someday save your life. According to scientists, people that are nervous are more aware of the lurking dangers. There have been decades of research that demonizes the chronic state of alertness as a health hazard because of the cortisol hormone, also known as the stress hormone, that damages cells. It has also been thought that being anxious can make one oversensitive to threat signals which can leave one 'frozen' in case of dangerous situations and impair their ability to react in time. However, a new study suggests that being hyper-vigilant may not be that bad.

Anxiety allows the signals to reach your brain centers quickly that are responsible for action, prompting an adrenaline rush and the 'fight or flight' response. On the other hand, lazy people may not be so quick when they sense danger. In fact, with laid-back people, when they are confronted by threatening situations, their brain signals travel to a part of brain that is responsible for sensory perception and face recognition. This difference was noticed by the researchers when they monitored the brain activity of 24 participants while they looked at pictures of people showing various levels of calm and dangerous behavior, according to the Telegraph. "Facial expressions can communicate important social signals and understanding these signals can be essential for surviving threatening situations," added Dr. El Zein.

In this experiment, the human brain was able to detect any threats within 200 milliseconds. "Such quick reactions could have served an adaptive purpose for survival," said lead author Dr Marwa El Zein from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research. "For example, we evolved alongside predators that can attack, bite or sting. A rapid reaction to someone experiencing fear can help us avoid danger," according to stuff.co.nz