BIO

I am a Freshman at Florida State University from Orlando, FL, currently majoring in Music Therapy with a hope to double major in Sociology. My hobbies include reading, singing, playing the guitar, swimming, and making delicious matcha lattes. My engagement on campus includes being a member of the FSU Club Water Polo team and FSU alpha mu alpha, which is a music therapy support club within the College of Music. My favorite class is Intro to Guitar and my least favorite is Sight Singing & Aural Skills. In the future I hope to earn either a Doctorate or Master's of Music Therapy, and use my education to further the research of many diverse populations and their responses to Music Therapy.

Project PEEL: Purpose and Engagement in Everyday Life

Abstract

The progression of cognitive decline, especially in connection with diseases affecting memory like Alzheimer’s and dementia, is a newly explored research topic. New evidence suggests that mental health factors, like purpose and motivation, largely affect the rate of cognitive decline beyond pharmaceutical remedies. This study used qualitative evidence from a human subject experiment in which older adults who volunteered to participate were placed into 3 groups: adults 40-65 years, adults aged 65 years and older experiencing decline in memory, and adults aged 65 years and older who are not experiencing decline in memory. An interview survey, at-home personality survey, and daily surveys and cognitive tasks spanning 8 days were administered to each participant. Our project decided to examine the relationship, if any, between exercise and its affect on cognition and overall life satisfaction in participants. We found that there was an increase in cognitive function when adults aged 65 or older exercised either often or sometimes compared to those who did not. There was significant correlation between exercise and life satisfaction.

Keywords: Cognition, Older Adults, Personality, Exercise