Is aging and the loss of vitality an unchangeable rule written into our biology, or is it a process we have already learned to manage at the cellular level? I discuss the secrets of women’s longevity, the impact of pregnancy on biological age, and the revolution in longevity medicine with Dr. Łukasz Sobkowiak, a molecular biologist and respected expert in healthy aging.
An ELEVATE speaker who gained his scientific experience at institutions including the prestigious Stanford School of Medicine in California, he is passionate about translating complex molecular mechanisms into practical strategies for everyday life. In this conversation, he explains how advanced scientific research is redefining the concept of biological age, why the female body was ignored by precision medicine for years, and how to consciously work with your own body to enjoy lasting energy for many years.
Aneta Kmiecik: Łukasz, for years science treated the female body as a “variation” of the male model. Why do we now consider this a mistake?
Dr. Łukasz Sobkowiak: Women and men differ at deep genetic, cellular, and molecular levels. For decades, reliable data was lacking in science because the female body, due to its cyclical nature, was considered more difficult to interpret in clinical research. Looking at the historical funding of research projects, women’s health was seriously neglected. At the level of cellular mechanisms, we age in some ways similarly. However, the dynamics of these changes are completely different between the sexes. Fortunately, this information gap is now gradually being filled by scientific literature, allowing us to develop personalized longevity strategies.
It is said that women statistically live longer, but often in poorer health than men. Is that true?
Unfortunately, yes. The scientific literature reveals a troubling statistic: the average person today spends the final 10 years of life living with chronic illness and disability. For women, this gap is even larger. You live longer, but the final stage of life is less often associated with good quality of life. Women are, for example, significantly more susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, even though the male brain structurally ages faster. In addition, women show a much greater tendency to develop autoimmune diseases. This is because the female immune system ages very differently at the level of individual cells. Genetics also plays a role, including the presence of two X chromosomes, which contain a large proportion of the genes that regulate immunity.
Why, then, do women ultimately live longer?
The female body has several powerful evolutionary advantages. First, at birth, girls statistically have longer telomeric DNA than boys. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that determine the potential for cell division. The longer they are at the beginning, the more slowly our biological clock runs down. Second, for decades of life, women are protected by the unique effects of sex hormones, especially estrogen. Among other things, estrogen allows female mitochondria, our cellular power plants, to function more efficiently. This natural biological protection gives women an advantage until major turning points occur, such as menopause or pregnancy.
Another fascinating topic is the relationship between aging and pregnancy. Is it true that pregnancy “ages” the body at the cellular level, or could the opposite be true and pregnancy provide a unique opportunity for regeneration?
This is one of the most remarkable topics to emerge from science in recent years. The latest research shows that pregnancy is a period of dramatic adaptive changes that cannot be reduced to a simple pattern. When we look at algorithms that assess laboratory parameters, known as Lab Age, and analyze hundreds of thousands of women, the mother’s body can appear approximately 5 years younger biochemically shortly after conception. However, as the fetus develops, laboratory results just before delivery may indicate a temporary “aging” of the body by as much as 20 years. Research on epigenetic age also shows that cells age during pregnancy, but what is remarkable is that after childbirth, this age returns to its original level.
How, then, can women manage these biological fluctuations?
I would add that pregnancy is also a period of remarkable neuroplasticity. Under the influence of a surge in hormones, the female brain undergoes profound structural remodeling. Gray matter volume decreases by approximately 4.5% during this time. In biology, however, lower volume does not necessarily mean something worse. It is a process of radical optimization and pruning of neural connections that prepares the mother for her new role. Within approximately 6 months after childbirth, everything returns to its original level.
There is also a fascinating hypothesis known as maternal fetal microchimerism. During pregnancy, cells are exchanged between the fetus and the mother. It turns out that after childbirth, cells from the child remain for many years in the woman’s organs, including the heart, lungs, and liver. These cells have stem cell, or progenitor cell, properties and, according to scientists, may actively support the regeneration of the mother’s tissues after pregnancy. Pregnancy is therefore a biological cycle of peaks and valleys, as well as a powerful adaptive program.
The female body responds very differently depending on the phase of the cycle or stage of life. Let us move on to practical advice: what 3 simple habits can every woman adopt starting tomorrow to remain in excellent physical and mental condition 20 to 30 years from now?
Longevity can be discussed through the lens of futuristic technologies, biohacking, or expensive pharmaceutical protocols. However, I believe we cannot move forward without solid foundations. The three key pillars supported by strong scientific evidence are regular physical activity, maintaining a consistent sleep rhythm, and reducing stress while taking care of the quality of social relationships.
First: intelligently planned physical activity. Both resistance training, or strength training, and aerobic exercise, such as running, which builds high fitness levels and improves VO2max, genuinely slow the shortening of telomeres. Physical activity has a geroprotective effect on our cells at the epigenetic level.
Second: sleep regularity, not just sleep duration. The well known Nurses’ Health Study, conducted among 60,000 nurses working shifts, showed that irregular and insufficient sleep dramatically increases the risk of hypertension. Another study published in Sleep found that people with irregular sleep patterns have a 48% higher risk of premature death. Consistent bedtimes and wake up times are a free elixir of youth.
And the third habit? You mentioned stress and relationships, which fits perfectly with the recently popular topic of environmental toxicity.
Exactly. The exposome includes everything that surrounds us, from PM2.5 air pollution and microplastics to psychosocial factors. Recent research has shown that a toxic physical environment accelerates structural aging of the brain, but toxic relationships damage us from within even faster. Spending time around people who create constant tension, hostility, and aggression literally moves the hands of our epigenetic clocks forward. Stress drives what is known as inflammaging, a chronic, low grade inflammatory state that damages tissues. Loneliness, in turn, is extremely dangerous to health. The third habit should therefore be to take uncompromising care of your mental well being, avoid isolation, and build healthy, supportive relationships with other people. These simple actions are within everyone’s reach.
These habits sound simple, and their power lies in consistency. Łukasz, this has been an enormous amount of reliable knowledge. Thank you very much for this conversation.
Thank you very much!
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