“While economic expansions bring with them increases in employment, greater optimism, and higher incomes (although not always and not for all sectors of the population), recessions are of periods of pessimism, shrinking, and social malaise,” study authors Jose A. Tapia Granados and Ana V. Diez Roux wrote. How, then, could this improve health?

Granados and Diez believe this may be due, in part, to the stress factors associated with economic boom. During times of economic prosperity, employees carry a much heavier workload. Higher occupational demands require workers to work quickly and put in more hours, which can cause greater stress and greater alcohol and tobacco consumption. There are also higher rates of cardiovascular problems during periods of expansion. There is less to do during times of economic downturn, which would eliminate many of these problems.

To examine the effects of recession on health and life expectancy, Granados and Diez reviewed mortality rates during the Great Depression. “Mortality tended to peak during years of strong economic expansion,” the authors wrote. “In contrast, the recessions of 1921, 1930-1933 and 1938 coincided with declines in mortality and gains in life expectancy.”

In 1932, at the height of the depression, nearly 23 percent of the U.S. population was unemployed. Life expectancy at this time was 63.3 years, up over six years from 57.7 in 1929. Not only did the weak economy seem to prolong life, but there was also a decline in tuberculosis cases, traffic accidents and pollution.

Overall statistics were consistent across age groups, gender, and whites and nonwhites, but the latter group saw the most benefit. “Nonwhite males lost 8.1 years of life expectancy between 1921 and 1926, and females lost 7.4 years (a brief period of expansion),” authors wrote. “In contrast, during the Great Depression nonwhites gained 8 years of longevity.”

Suicide rates rose during the Great Depression, accounting for less than two percent of all deaths. The economic crisis of the 1920s and 30s also saw higher rates of infant mortality and malnutrition in areas with extremely high unemployment rates, but people generally lived longer, healthier lives.

If this pattern holds true today, they say it’s possible current economic conditions could give Americans up to two additional years of life: “Although social science is not physics, regularities in the past allow us at least some confidence in forecasting the future.” They also stress that although this information is promising, the negative effects of anxiety and hopelessness can still take a toll on a person’s health and well-being.

Granados and Diaz plan to continue their research. They explain, “A better understanding of the beneficial effects of recessions on health may perhaps contribute to the development of economic policies that enhance health and minimize or buffer adverse impacts of economic expansions.”