Dr. rer. nat. Sandra Düzel 

Cognition Psychology

Physical exercise, inspiring exchanges with other people and a conscious diet can maintain our health and vitality into old age. Not only our heart benefits from this, but also our memory. As part of my research, I have investigated in various studies how different social and psychological factors influence our ability to think into old age.

I am particularly interested in how an active lifestyle affects our own personal "health span". This refers to our lifetime, during which we can live and develop in a healthy, independent and, above all, happy way. My interest here lies in the connections between motivation, lifestyle and brain functions. The individual person with their abilities and needs is the focus of my research.

In my research group "Cognition and Psychology", we are trying to understand even better how exactly our lifestyle and social interactions affect our heart and brain. We are investigating how new experiences and regular physical activity affect our heart health, motivation and memory. We are particularly interested in the individual psychological, environmental and biological conditions that support us in leading a healthy, curious and active lifestyle and maintaining it in the long term. We are incorporating the latest findings from brain research into the prevention and interventions that we will be exploring in depth at FS-CPC.

The results of my research will give us exciting new insights into how an active lifestyle influences the relationship between heart health, mental performance and willpower over the course of our lives.