Sven Voelpel: Intelligent people stay awake longer.

Sven Voelpel has made an international career starting from Landsberg. He researches about staying young and has now written a book about aging. A portrait.

These days, reaching Sven Voelpel is a challenge. While his new book "Decide for Yourself How Old You Are" is being presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair, he also has to attend the opening of his exhibition "Ey Alter" at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Interviews, tours, and TV appearances - no problem for the professor from Bremen, who spent his youth in Landsberg and graduated from high school there. His workday usually ends around 3 o'clock in the morning. Long workdays, a packed schedule, nights on the train - one might think that would make you age faster. Voelpel, who has just turned 43, denies this. He eats healthily, does short but intense strength training. Research has also shown that intelligent people stay up longer. This insight can also be found in his new book. In it, the professor of business administration, who teaches at Jacobs University in Bremen, has compiled a lot of valuable information about staying young. He says we can influence to a much greater extent than previously thought whether we are old or just getting older. Sven Voelpel: Professorships on four continents The 43-year-old acquired his knowledge about aging through guest and research professorships on four continents. An international life was not foreseeable for him for a long time. "At 23, I flew alone on vacation for the first time," he says. At the age of eight, the Munich native moved to Landsberg with his family. His brother German, 44, is the managing director of the family business based in Königsmoos in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, which specializes in drying and refining herbs and vegetables, spices, and tea. Sven Voelpel graduated from Dominikus-Zimmermann-Gymnasium in Landsberg. At that time, he spent his free time mainly with music and sports. As a drummer, he played in three student bands. But at some point, he wanted to use his almost inexhaustible energy differently. Sven Voelpel is considered one of the leading age researchers He started reading, a lot, and during his studies of business administration at the University of Augsburg, he was driven by ambition to use his energy for learning. He studied English for a scholarship in London. Research became his hobby, especially with his doctoral thesis in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Voelpel is now a professor in Bremen, founding president of a demographic network, and author of more than 200 publications in books and scientific journals. In addition to demographic change, his research focuses on innovation, leadership, and team effectiveness. He is considered one of the leading age researchers and advises governments and organizations such as Allianz, the Federal Employment Agency, Daimler, and Deutsche Bahn. Voelpel lives in Bremen with his wife and sons (two and four years old).