The recipe for leading a long and healthy existence is maintaining a young mindset, being immature from time to time and regularly enjoying a touch of nostalgia, The Sun reports citing a study.

Researchers who polled 2,000 adults found almost three quarters of Brits believe forgetting you are an adult from time to time is important.

One in four of those revealed they wanted to stay ‘child-like’ as long as possible.

The study commissioned by Healthspan to launch their new range of Multivitality Gummies for men and women found that feeling nostalgic and identifying with those things from our childhood makes us happy.

Dr Meg Arroll, a psychologist on behalf of Healthspan, said: “Perceiving ourselves as younger than our age is linked to a more future-orientated outlook, which means that we make better health choices such as engaging in exercise and healthy eating.”

The study also found men are still embracing their inner child well into their twenties by playing video games and enjoying practical jokes.

And it seems men’ don’t ‘mature’ fully until the age of 29.

But women aren’t far behind – only acting like a fully-grown adult once they reach the age of 27.

The research revealed over half of Brits hankered after their childhood and 19 to 25 years of age was identified as the ‘carefree’ years of youth.

Watching kid’s films and old TV shows, pulling silly faces behind other people’s backs, and mimicking what other people say are just some of the ways people behave child-like.

Other signs of not becoming a fully-fledged adult include blowing bubbles through a straw, driving with the music turned up loud and daydreaming all the time.

Over half of those revealed that they feel nostalgic for their childhood.