Economic downturns may not be good for your bottom line but they might be a boon to your health, according to a study on health trends during the 20 years around the Great Depression.

The number of deaths from disease, accidents and infant mortality during the Great Depression also fell."The finding is strong and counterintuitive," "Most people assume that periods of high unemployment are harmful to health."

The study did not look at the reasons why this was the case but Tapia Granados suggested that it may be because times of economic expansion have been linked to increases in smoking and drinking, as well as less sleep and more stress.

"During expansions, firms are very busy, and they typically demand a lot of effort from employees, who are required to work a lot of overtime, and to work at a fast pace. This can create stress, which is associated with more drinking and smoking," he said in a statement.

Also as the economy picks up, so does road traffic which also means more traffic deaths and fatal workplace injuries show a similar increase as companies take on more inexperienced workers during boom times.

Increased industrial production and road traffic also create more air pollution, Tapia Granados said, with studies showing that deaths from heart disease tend to spike on days marked by heavy air pollution.

The researchers found that deaths from five of the six top U.S. killers remained stable or decreased during the Depression with the one exception being death from suicide. Tapia Granados said during recessions there was less work to do, so employees can work at a slower pace.

"There is more time to sleep, and because people have less money, they are less likely to spend as much on alcohol and tobacco," he said.