{"id":414810,"date":"2026-04-24T07:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/414810\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T07:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:25:10","slug":"how-sophie-ellis-bextor-cut-7-years-off-her-biological-age-with-these-2-simple-fitness-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/414810\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sophie Ellis-Bextor cut 7 years off her biological age with these 2 simple fitness habits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queen of pop and mother of five Sophie Ellis-Bextor is a very busy woman \u2013 releasing albums, hosting podcasts, touring festivals. But despite that busyness \u2013 and the stress that likely accompanies it \u2013 Sophie, 47, discovered her biological age is seven years younger than her chronological one on Katherine Ryan\u2019s podcast What\u2019s My Age Again?<\/a><\/p>\n

Also known as your physiological age, biological age measures how fast your cells are ageing based on biomarkers. It\u2019s influenced by lifestyle, genetics and environment, and can be a helpful predictor of overall longevity<\/a> \u2013 hence the wellness world\u2019s current obsession with the metric. <\/p>\n

Because biological age \u2013 which does fluctuate \u2013 can be affected by stress and lack of sleep<\/a>, Sophie told Katherine and scientist and longevity expert Dr Nichola Conlon that she thought she wouldn\u2019t fare well on the test (a GlycanAge test in this case, which examines your body\u2019s inflammation<\/a> levels). \u2018I\u2019ve definitely aged myself with lack of sleep,\u2019 she told them. So the fact her biological age came back as seven years younger surprised her \u2013 until Dr Conlon highlighted the benefits of her existing habits.<\/p>\n

\u2018I walk a lot,\u2019 said Sophie. \u2018I always walk the school run and then walk back,\u2019 she added. \u2018I try and get proper walks in every day because that is the best thing for my head.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, a huge body of research has demonstrated the physiological and mental benefits of walking, with a recent study<\/a> finding a daily 11-minute brisk walk to be sufficient in lowering the risk of diseases such as heart disease<\/a>, stroke<\/a> and a number of cancers. <\/p>\n

Dancing <\/p>\n

\u2018I think dancing is one of the most pleasurable things in life,\u2019 Sophie added. \u2018I love dancing and it always makes me feel better.\u2019<\/p>\n

A recent study<\/a> found that dance workouts<\/a> rivalled both running<\/a> and weight training<\/a> for fat loss, adding to a growing body of research on the mental and physical benefits of regular dance. <\/p>\n

Home cooking<\/p>\n

Sophie explained that, living in a household that gets \u2018excited about food\u2019, she regularly cooks for her family. \u2018I think I take a lot of pleasure from making myself something to eat, and I enjoy it \u2013 I don\u2019t find it stressful,\u2019 she said. <\/p>\n

So, there\u2019s a double health whammy at play here \u2013 healthy, nutritious food and time to destress.<\/p>\n

Social connections<\/p>\n

\u2018I surround myself with good people,\u2019 Sophie added. \u2018That is actually the best thing in my life about helping me feel good about things,\u2019 she said of her close, supportive network. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s something Dr Conlon highlighted is key to healthy ageing: \u2018Social connectedness and not having any loneliness or isolation plays a massive role.\u2019<\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organisation\u2019s Commission on Social Connection<\/a>, loneliness is linked to an estimated 100 deaths every hour \u2013 more than 871,000 deaths annually. \u2018Strong social connections can lead to better health and longer life,\u2019 it said in its report. <\/p>\n

Having a strong core is about far more than sporting a six-pack. Build functional mid-section strength \u2013 while also improving your power, posture, coordination and balance \u2013 with WH COLLECTIVE coach Izy George\u2019s 4-week core challenge. Download the Women\u2019s Health UK app to access the full training plan today.<\/p>\n

Get the app<\/a><\/p>\n

\"izy<\/a>Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women\u2019s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. \u00a0She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner\u2019s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. \u00a0A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She\u2019s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queen of pop and mother of five Sophie Ellis-Bextor is a very busy woman \u2013 releasing albums, hosting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[134802,131705,131377,1105,182035,1107,499,103,61,60,1135,182034],"class_list":["post-414810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-collection-fit-at-40","tag-collection-fit-at-any-age","tag-collection-fitness-app","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-3b78b043-0eab-405d-a8b4-8db463e68715","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-how-sophie-ellis-bextor-slashed-her-biological-age"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}