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Impact of Recession on Single Moms' Health

By Vianesa Vargas

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In today's tight economy, women everywhere are starting to be more choosey with where they spend each hard earned dollar. With job security levels low around the nation, most aren't fully confident that they will see their next pay check and are questioning each purchase made.

There are necessities that families absolutely cannot do without - food, clothing, and shelter being the primary ones, but what about single moms who are trying to support a family? How do they cope?

Let's look at the impact of the recession on a single mom's health and what can be done to make their dollars work harder.

Decreased Personal Time

The first impact that most single moms will face as the recession wears on is a decreased time availability for the personal activities they used to pursue. Often leisure time will be replaced with a second job to attempt to bring in more income to help get by.

In other situations, the personal time may have only come thanks to the hired babysitter, which is no longer an option.

In order to remedy this situation and deal with it in the face of the recession, single moms should either attempt to pursue free activities that they enjoy that their kids can participate in (walking, biking, attending local free exhibits, and so on) or should be sure whatever second job they do take on is something enjoyable.

Lower Calorie Intake

The second significant issue that single moms on a tight budget face is the quality of nutritional support they receive. Many will place their child's needs ahead of their own, ensuring first their kids have had enough even if it means going with a very small 'snack-like' dinner themselves.

When faced with this situation, it's time to really assess the shopping budget. Dollars will go the distance if spent wisely, and moms will still be able to get the nutritional benefits required.

For extra savings, make very good use of the bulk bins adding raw oats, peanuts, dried fruit, and other whole grains. These are typically much cheaper then when buying them by the package and will provide healthy nutrition to boost your energy levels.

For protein, watch flyers for discounts and choose cheaper varieties such as eggs, skim or 1% milk, or even skim milk powder. Canned tuna is also a smart, cost-effective protein source, but limit the quantity due to the mercury content it contains.

Greater Stress Levels

Another factor affecting single moms that tends to build as money gets tighter is high levels of stress. Stress usually rears its head through irritablity, fatigue and frustration - feelings almost all of us have experienced at some point before.

Besides bad moods, high levels of stress really begin to wear on the body, increasing the risk of diseases such as heart disease and depression. Additionally, the longer the stress prevails, the weaker the immune system will grow over time, which sets moms up for greater incidences of colds and the flu - instances we cannot afford.

To help combat this, try and find free or low-cost activities that will help ease stress. This could be as simple as writing in a journal as the act of getting out what's causing the stress is often enough to put things in perspective.

Don't let the recession get you down. Its definitely a trying time right now particularly for single moms, but with some creativity and a positive mindset, you can make the most of it.

References: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/stress-heart-attack-risk

http://www.nih.gov/news/WordonHealth/oct2000/story01.htm

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