We are sick and tired of hearing about how exercise can make us happier, stronger, healthier etc. We get it, ok?!

That being said, a new study has revealed that exercising can actually change the way you perceive the world. Researchers got 66 students to complete a questionnaire about anxiety, and then exercise on a treadmill. Some were told to jog, others were told to run and some were told to simply stand.

Afterwards, they were shown a simulation of a human stick figure walking and they had to guess if it was walking towards them, or away from them. The results?

“People who either walked or jogged on a treadmill for 10 minutes perceived these ambiguous figures as facing towards them (the observer) less often than those who simply stood on the treadmill. The same was true when people performed progressive muscle relaxation.”

Apparently people who are socially anxious are more likely to perceive the figure as walking towards them (the more threatening perception).

What do you see?