Bad times seem to prompt surprising health benefits

If you’re like me, the evening news these days makes your head tense and your stomach sour.

All the talk of stocks falling, national debt, and double-dip recession has just about everyone on edge.

But could economic bad times actually have a healthy upside?

Typically, homicides, suicides, and mental health problems rise during deep recessions.

But an analysis published in a 2000 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics suggests that some health factors may actually improve.

That study found that death rates dropped during the 1974 and 1982 recessions. Then, when the economy recovered in the mid-80s, death rates went back up.

Meanwhile, over the period of economic decline, rates of heart disease and car accidents also dropped.

Economists believe that recessions prompt families to spend more time together and follow a healthier diet because they tend to prepare meals from scratch at home.

When life gives you lemons make…dinner.

Sources:
“Are Bad Times Healthy?” Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times, 10/7/08, nytimes.com