Healthiest at 30, best sex at 32 and happiest at 39: How age determines when YOU reach your peak

The poll of 2,000 men and women found that we are ultimately the happiest when we turn 39 in a detailed investigation into life's key milestones.

People were also identified as being most body confident at 31 but doing the best in their careers by the age of 38.

According to the study , other major moments in our lives include being the most content in our relationship at the age of 40 and earning our dream salary two years later at 42.

But when asked whether they would like scientific advances to allow us to live forever, only one in four (23 percent) said they would.

And true happiness is set to arrive at the age of 39 when we are likely to own our own home, be settled with our soul mate and be enjoying our chosen career.

The study also discovered we are most likely to enjoy 'playing the field' at the age of 24 with the average woman saying she made the most of being young, free and single at the age of 23, while for men that crept up to 25.

And according to the data, finding a soul mate occurs just months before we are able to enjoy the best sex of our lives as we approach our 33rd birthday.

Psychologist Donna Dawson said: 'Interestingly, the research reveals that most of the high points in our lives occur in our thirties.

'This is because we have laid a foundation beforehand: in our twenties, we leave university, start a job, try a few relationships out for size, make plenty of mistakes and learn from them and work out what we really want from life.

'By the age of 30, we are physically in our prime, still advancing our careers and more sure of what we want. This, in turn, brings self-confidence and general contentment.

'However it is not surprising that immortality is not something universally desired. 

'If we can't stay at the ideal age of 38, then we still have to deal with the ageing process and the health and financial issues that come with it!'

The study also found overall that a reassuring 84 per cent of the population are currently either very happy or mostly happy, with only 16 percent of those polled - or around one in six - unhappy.

When asked about the possibility of there being an afterlife, 67 percent said they believed there was, while 33 percent disagreed.

The research was carried out to mark Monday's Blu-ray and DVD release of The Last Witch Hunter, starring Vin Diesel, whose character Kaulder is cursed with immortality.

A spokesperson for the film said: 'Life has many highs and lows with milestones dotted along the way and it's interesting to see that the study has shown that most people are happiest when they reach the age of 39.

'However if they were given the chance to live forever, like Vin Diesels' character Kaulder in The Last Witch Hunter, very few people would take up the offer, realising that it would be a curse rather than a gift.'