It wouldn’t be January without new year’s resolutions. Pledges to get in shape or cut back on vices are often guided by a plethora of wellness trends doing the rounds on social media and elsewhere. But what does science have to say about all those good intentions you might have?

This week, we examine the evidence behind three popular ideas: does intermittent fasting work? Will melatonin fight your post-holiday jet lag? And can you breathe your stress away?

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: The Economist’s science correspondents Tim Cross, Emilie Steinmark and Ainslie Johnstone.

For more guides to health and wellness like these, check out “Well informed”, a new weekly series in The Economist’s science and technology section.

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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