SCIENTISTS have discovered that anxiety acts like a ‘sixth sense’ by sending warning signals to the brain.
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| Anxiety could actually save your life, according to new research |
For years, research findings around anxiety have been largely focused on the negative impacts it has on health.
It is widely accepted that being in an anxious state spikes the production of the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol, which damages cells throughout the body.
Further, experts have advised that being in a chronic state of alertness can make a person oversensitive to threat signals. This was thought to impact the body’s reaction time, making them slower to avert sudden danger.
But a new study is bucking the trend, and has found that anxiety can actually be beneficial.
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| Researchers found that being in an anxious state triggers the 'fight or flight' mode |
In fact, it may even save your life.
The research suggests that being in a hyper-vigilant state allows warning signals to shoot to certain regions of the brain that make a person act.
This, in turn, triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response humans inherently have and a surge of adrenalin.
The study, from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, found that laid back people weren’t so quick to react.
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| For years, research findings around anxiety have been focused on the negative impacts |
Instead, their initial brain signals travel to a different part of the brain that is linked to facial recognition and sensory perception.
Researchers found that people in an anxious state were able to detect social threats within just 200 milliseconds.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Dr Marwa El Zein from the French Institute of Health and Research said: “Such quick reactions could have served an adaptive purpose for survival.
“For example, we evolved alongside predators that can attack, bite or sting. A rapid reaction to someone experiencing fear can help us avoid danger.”
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