Ever wondered what luck looks like? According to research out last week, people called John or Sarah consider themselves the luckiest people in the country, they average 39 years old, live in Edinburgh with 1 or 2 children and make love 2.31 times a week.

The study we commissioned, delved into the lifestyle of over 1,800 people and revealed that 58% of the UK population consider themselves lucky in life. When it comes to the ultimate lucky male, those called John come up trumps, followed by David and Michael. For women, Sarah and Claire just pip Emma to the top spot. The optimum age considered lucky is 39 years and five months and typically, the luckiest of individuals are in a relationship (83%) and are proud pet owners (67%).

Delving a little deeper into the traits of those Brits who consider themselves most lucky, the research identified lucky males are most likely to own a dog (37%), and over a quarter admit they are in a better job than they deserve (27%). They also keep busy in the bedroom, having sex 134 times a year with a partner who is on average 6 months younger than them. They also openly confess they are punching well above their weight, with 79% believing their partner to be more attractive than them.

Of women who consider themselves lucky, over half live in a house with a white door (51%) and the majority prefer to own a cat (36%) than a dog. Interestingly, nearly a quarter of lucky women have a younger partner (22%) and are almost as active as men when it comes to sex, doing it on average 110 times a year or 2.12 times a week.

When it comes to life events, almost half of those who consider themselves lucky have never been seriously ill (43%), over a quarter have won more than £100 in a prize draw, lottery or game of bingo and almost a third have never received a parking ticket (31%).

Dr Rebecca Spelman, psychologist comments: “Being classed as lucky is a question of perspective. It’s people’s thoughts and behaviours that influence their chances of success, which impact on how lucky they perceive themselves to be. They are more likely to give things a try and make good calculated risks.”

Those who see themselves as less fortunate are typically named Sue or Paul, aged 43 years old and live in Bristol in a home with a brown or wooden door. Sex is sadly impacted too, with almost half of those that consider themselves unlucky not having sex at all (45%) which may be to do with the fact that unlucky people are twice as likely to be single. However, unlucky people are also much less likely to take part in superstitious acts. Two in five (42%) say they have never done anything superstitious in a bid to improve their luck. Indeed, two thirds (61%) are more than happy to walk under a ladder!

Our very own Mark Jones explains: “It’s great to see the nation’s habits when it comes to luck and it’s very positive that the majority think of themselves as being lucky. For those that don’t, it is evident there is room for improvement! It seems it’s not luck of the Irish but luck of the Scots!”