When it comes to the topic of boredom, the lovely and talented housewife Betty Draper hits the nail on the head:

“Go bang your head against the wall. Only boring people are bored,” she snaps at one of her children, I can’t remember which one, Sally or Bobby, when confronted by complaints of ennui on the three-time best-drama Golden Globe-award winning AMC show “Mad Men.”

It turns out, however, that bored or boring people might also be in danger of living shorter lives.

According to a commentary to be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology this coming April, experts say there’s a possibility that the more bored you are, the more likely you are to die early.

Researchers caution that boredom alone isn’t likely to kill you, but, according to an Associated Press story, “it could be a symptom of other risky behavior like drinking, smoking, taking drugs or having a psychological problem.”

How do we know this?

Sandi Mann, a senior lecturer in occupational psychology, actually studies boredom at the University of Central Lancashire. (Bizarrely enough, that’s exactly where I, yes, yours truly, spent an entire academic year studying American literature, which was, incidentally, not at all boring.)

Mann believes boredom is linked to anger suppression, which can raise blood pressure and suppress the body’s natural immunity: “People who are bored also tend to eat and drink more, and they’re probably not eating carrots and celery sticks,” she said.

So, let’s do whatever we can to do to avoid boredom, even if it’s reading Midday Snacks over and over, OK?