How much younger would you like to be?

Wouldn't it be great if you could just wave a magic wand and strip years off your life? Like layers on an onion, what would you like to peel off? 5 Years? 10 Years? Or may be more.

I've just dug out some social research statistics on this subject. They are a little old - they date from 2002 - but they give an early guide to how people see rejuvenation.

The first thing to notice is that about a third of people, do not want to change their age at all. These people are happy with where they are in their lives and do not yearn for a younger self. And 5% would like to be somewhat older than they are currently - but virtually all of these are found in the 15-24 year old age band of respondents.

The rest of us - some 60% - want to be younger! But how much younger is the younger you? 5 years younger will do 9% of us. Almost a quarter 24% want to be 10 years younger. But 27% want to roll back a full 20 years!!

Looking at the detail, it is unsurprising, perhaps, to see that the older you are, the more you yearn for a bigger rejuvenation - most people wishing for 20 years more youth were 45+.

Interestingly professional and self-employed people are the occupations wishing for the biggest swish of the rejuvenation wand. Why would this be? My hypothesis is that this is a reflection of how much they have sacrificed for their careers and how poorly they have lived their leisure lives. Are you one of these people? A lost youth spent studying and lost life spent climbing the career ladder may bring great frustration concerning ageing.

The other social groups yearning for youthfulness are the divorced, the separated and the widowed. So here, rolling back the clock is probably about regrets and the desire to have the time to make a fresh start.

So there you have it. The majority of people want to rejuventate - but their motivations for doing so are mixed - getting older is the most powerful reason to wish to be younger. But regrets about a wasted life and the desire to start again are also powerful reasons to rejuvenate.