ABSTRACT
Health psychologists are concerned with how our behavior affects our physical health and strategies we can use to maintain and improve it. Researchers find that humor may boost immunity, which helps the body fight attacks. It may increase pain tolerance, which may encourage people to experience a higher quality of life and avoid maladaptive coping behaviors or needing stronger pain medication, which may have harmful side effects. Coping humor may distract people from dwelling on stressful or unhealthy situations and empower their ability to manage stress. Humor may be effective in influencing behavioral changes that improve health, perhaps helping individuals attend to their health or feel less threatened about seeking help.
