Photo of Mark Neese, owner of True North Counseling, on a hiking trip.

10 Habits for the Apocalypse | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E1

I wake up.
Check my phone. Weather. E-mails. Amazon Prime deliveries.
My wife gets up and makes coffee for us.
I sit up on the edge of the bed. My wife is delivering coffee, and I get a good hug.
I walk to the bathroom and take care of business.
After taking care of business, I go to the sink and wash my hands and my face. In that order.
I brush my teeth with my Oral-B Oscillating Toothbrush for exactly 2 minutes.
I floss. I use Oral-B glide-mint dental floss pics. Up and down, not like a saw.
I gargle.
I take my meds, my vitamins, probiotics, and fiber gummies.
I step out of the bathroom and see Hansel, my kitty, laying at the end of the bed, waiting to receive my attention. I nuzzle his neck.
I hop back into bed and watch the weather and sports clips on the WDRB app.
I watch some educational videos on YouTube.
And then, go out and sit on the front porch and swing with my wife.
Finally, and depending on the day, I either work, work-out, or write.

That’s my routine, which really is just a series of habits that make up my routine.

Atomic habits

I haven’t read Atomic Habits, by James Clear, but I did read a summary. OK, so maybe I listened to it on Audible. The message was: Small habits create big results. I like that. But, instead of focusing on the results, explains Clear, focus on the type of person you want to become. He calls that Identity-Based Habits.

Identity-Based Habits: What Are They?

I identify as a Hiker. I began telling myself that I was a hiker 30 years ago. And it created in me the desire to act like a hiker. Habits. A hike every week, sometimes two or three times a week.

I identify as a Cyclist. I get up every weekend and cycle. Habits.

I identify as a Backpacker, and I do Backpacking things several times a year. Habits.

I’m a climber. I’ve started climbing in a gym and I’m at the early stage of developing that identity. Habits.

What about your identity as a healthy ager?

I tell people how old I am all the time because, frankly, I’m aging well. And what do healthy 70-year-olds do? They do things regularly that support that identity. I’m a strong and healthy ager. And I am a strong and healthy septuagenarian (almost). Habits.

I’m also going to suggest that we’re living in some pretty perilous times and that adds a wrinkle to what it means to age well.

This first episode of season 12 is about developing skills as a healthy ager, during perilous times.

I’ve gathered 25 or 30 articles from the Harvard Health Annual for 2025 and I’ve reframed them slightly to reflect the stressful times that we’re living in.

This first episode is about 10 habits for healthy aging or good health, but also strategies for coping in these perilous time.

Ten Habits for Living in the Apocalypse

The first habit for the Apocalypse is: Stretching.

I have a 30-minute stretching routine that I’ve developed from books and the Internet. Five years ago, during the pandemic, I drove to Colorado three times to see my son, granddaughters and daughter-in-law. After the third trip, I could barely walk. I saw my chiropractor. No help. I said to myself, “Surely (and don’t call me Shirley), I have a book to help my back and sure enough I did. “Framework For the Lower Back” by a Nicholas Dinubile, which is part of a bigger series entitled “Framework.”

I started doing the exercises, which are mostly stretches and within three weeks I was pain-free.

I’ve added several stretches that I use for my hips and shoulders but get this: I’m relatively pain-free.

There’s no better way to get through these stressful times than to be pain-free and stretching is a big part of that.

I’m going to ask you to do something after each of these skills: Give yourself a letter grade for how you display this habit.

My Grade: A.

The second habit for the apocalypse is: Stay Hydrated.

We’re getting older and because of that we are more likely to experience dehydration. This is partly due to the decrease in muscle mass, but we simply don’t feel that thirsty until it’s too late. I honestly have to work at staying hydrated. I usually have something nearby to drink. Coffee counts, but you would become dehydrated with just coffee. Develop a habit of having a water bottle near nearby.

My Grade: B+

Third habit for the apocalypse is: Flossing.

Poor dental health and hygiene can create lots of systemic health problems, including cardiovascular disease.
Flossing has been a part of my daily habits for several years. My hygienist tells me to keep doing whatever I’m doing. I use dental floss pics. Remember up-and-down the tooth not crossways like a saw. Having all your teeth is going to enhance your ability to eat the kind of food that you need to eat to avoid muscle loss as you age.

My Grade: A

The fourth habit for the Apocalypse is: Use Sunscreen.

My sunscreen history is not the best but over the past several months, especially this summer, I’ve been using a moisturizing cream in the morning that has SPF 50. I would say I use this most mornings and, in the evenings, I’m using 100% aloe. I think using moisturizer and aloe is going to help me avoid looking like I’m living in the Apocalypse, you know, all leathery, and of course, avoiding skin cancer.

My Grade: B+

The fifth habit is: Consuming Nuts.

I love nuts and they are an excellent snack, but because I’ve had diverticulitis, I’m at risk of having another outbreak. My doctor tells me I can eat nuts, but to be safe here’s what I do: I make Power Bars with raw almonds, and I run them through a juicing machine that turns them into almond butter. Let me share the recipe that I use for my Power Bars.

INGREDIENTS:
1.75 cups of raw almonds
1/2 LIVfit Superfood* 1/4 cups row almonds
1 cup Agave
1 cup Coconut Oil
2 tsp.  Vanilla
1 tbsp, kosher salt
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 cup dried fruit, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup Hemp hearts

¼ cup of 100% cacao

Put the first 6 ingredients into a blender until smooth. Put the next 7 ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix. And then, combine the nut-batter.

My Grade: A

The sixth habit is: Take naps.

The Harvard Health Annual points to a study published in General Psychiatry that found that Nappers score higher on cognitive tests than non-Nappers. I nap two or three times a month, usually after a long hike. I don’t sleep, I just rest. It helps.

Current grade: C+

Maybe I’ll make time for a short nap throughout the week.

The seventh habit is: Exercise “Snacks.”

I try to exercise at least five times per week. This past week I exercised 11 hours. That includes mostly walking but also stretching and resistance training.

I don’t expect everyone to start with this, but doing 10 air-squats every hour dramatically improves your metabolic health. There are lots of things you can do to incorporate moving into your daily routine. Simple ways: parking farther away from the store, walking after dinner, and taking the steps instead of the escalator or elevator.

My Grade: A+

The eighth habit is: “Take a breather.” This is interesting. Let me share from the health review:

Alternate nostril-breathing, in which you breathe through one nostril at a time, is believed to help reduce stress by slowing your breathing rhythm and forcing you to take deep full breaths. Using a finger or thumb, close one nostril and slowly breathe in and out through the open nostril after about 5 to 10 breaths, switch and close the other nostril and repeat the breathing pattern.

Grade: NA, but I’m going to try to do this

The ninth habit for getting through the apocalypse is: Enjoy a Hobby.

Hobbies are things that you do that have very little to do with work. My hobbies help to keep me fit like hiking, backpacking, and climbing. My wife is very crafty. She makes coats out of fleece, she makes jewelry, she makes wreaths, she makes felt flowers, and handbags. Every evening we have personal development time to work on our hobbies. I mostly read or write. Find something that you love and spend time doing it every day.

My Grade: A+

The last habit for the apocalypse is: Be Social

As I’ve gotten older, I enjoy less time with groups of people and more time with a few people like my wife, my sons, a few friends, and my kitties.

I spend much of my week helping people solve problems and for that reason I need more solitude. But I do need people. We need people.

My Grade: A-

Now grade yourself. Add them up and average them out. Each one gets the score of one through four depending on the letter grade

My average is 3.5 GPA. I’ll take my score again in six months or in a year and see if I’ve made any improvement.

Prepare for the Apocalypse

There is very little that we can do to change the climate in our country regarding politics, religion, or economics, but we can change our coping strategies and the way that we respond. These 10 habits are ways of developing more resiliency and improves our ability to weather the apocalypse. The next episode will help defuse your ticking time-bomb.

TO READ MORE ENTRIES IN THE HEALTHY AGING SERIES, CLICK HERE.