Always being on alert has its rewards: anxious people get sick less because their brains detect risks sooner than others

New research suggests some anxious and neurotic traits may lower serious illness risk by helping people spot threats earlier.

Psychology and medical studies, including large cohorts and reviews, link personality traits with differences in mortality risk.

The findings challenge the view that anxiety is only harmful and frame it as a possible survival mechanism.

Moderate alertness may have evolved as a protective trait for detecting health and environmental dangers sooner.