You've likely seen or at least heard of the show Mad Men, starring Jon Hamm. It wrapped up its seven-year run this past year, but my wife and I are playing catch-up via Netflix. We're now in season 6 of 7. The show is flat-out addictive, which is no surprise given it has won and been nominated for several awards. We concluded our binge watching last night at 2 a.m. So here I am at work, running on three hours of sleep and greatly looking forward to going home so we can catch the next episode! Jon Hamm plays Don Draper, a creative director at an advertising agency on Madison Avenue (hence the name "Mad Men"). The show is set in the 1960s and touches on a wide range of themes associated with that time, from misogyny and adultery to racism. I think they've done a great job of making the viewer feel as if he's been transported to an era defined by such watershed events as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which is incorporated into an episo...

We all know about the myriad benefits of exercise, from helping us lose weight to lowering our blood pressure. A recent study in the journal  Psychosomatic Medicine finds that it also helps adults with high-anxiety sensitivity -- or fear of anxiety and related sensations like sweating, dizziness, or a racing heart -- quit smoking. By reducing anxiety sensitivity and depressive symptoms, exercise makes it twice as likely that these individuals will kick their smoking habit. I always encourage my friends and loved ones to exercise -- and with good reason. The benefits go way beyond the physical. When I go to the gym, put on my headphones, and blast the music while on the treadmill or elliptical, I feel fantastic. Not only does it melt away my worries, but it puts me in a good mood -- and I feel more energized (not less so, as contradictory as that may seem) once I get home. If you're not big on exercising, I recommend that you put in at least a couple of hours a week. (I aim to h...

Everyone assumes that women take breakups a lot harder than men do. Images of women breaking out the tissue box and pigging out on ice cream come to mind. Meanwhile, we picture men going about their regular business, going out for drinks with the guys or puttering on the golf course. Research, however, tells a whole different story. Findings reveal that men are more adversely affected by breakups than women are. In fact, following breakups, men are more likely to suffer from negative health outcomes, including smoking and drinking problems. Why is this so? Women, as it turns out, generally have a much wider social network on which to lean on following a breakup, thus putting them in a better position to reach out to others for support. What's more, the stereotype about men being more prone to keeping their feelings bottled up generslly holds true. It's harder for men to cope because in situations that call for emotional support from other people, they normally loo...