Startup Founder Sleeplessness For My 24/7 Anxious Brain

Anyone building an early-stage business knows the reality: you are always on.

I’m 38, founder of a small SaaS startup. There’s no true end of the workday. Even after I close my laptop, my brain keeps cycling through risks: cash flow, client churn, product bugs, investor feedback. My mind automatically runs through every worst-case scenario, usually at 2 or 3 a.m.

I’m physically exhausted, but my nervous system stays stuck in high alert mode. I’ve burned the candle at both ends for years. Sleep is shallow. I might fall asleep for a few hours, then jolt awake in the early morning. The second my eyes open, my brain jumps straight back into crisis planning. Once that loop starts, there’s no going back to sleep.

For a long time, I tried scented candles to decompress at night. I loved the cozy vibe at first. But most of those candles are loaded with synthetic fragrances. After lighting them night after night, I started noticing dull, heavy head discomfort. That artificial scent hung in the room, and it didn’t really calm my racing thoughts — it just added another sensory layer that left me feeling off. I had to stop using them.

I’ve tried meditation, cold showers, sleep trackers. They helped occasionally, but nothing could reliably tell my startup brain to hit pause. Then I looked for a natural alternative to create relaxing moments. I picked up herbal  incense sticks, which is a simple daily wellness, and also a mark of the end of my workday.

The smoke is soft, never sharp or irritating. It carries a grounded, gentle herbal aroma. Warm and subtle, no heavy sweetness. It feels like a quiet signal to my nervous system: the emergency planning window is closed. It slowly unfolds, giving me a moment to release the tight tension in my shoulders.

The medicinal incense isn’t a silver bullet. It won’t erase startup pressure overnight, but I saw a meaningful difference after two weeks of lighting it every night before bed. I still have stressful days where worries creep in. But I settle into sleep faster. When I wake up pre-dawn, I no longer immediately spiral into running every business risk through my head. I can stay calm and drift back to sleep instead of lying awake running on fumes.

For founders, the challenge isn’t just insomnia. It’s that our brains are trained to stay alert around the clock. This simple herbal incense gives me a sensory cue to reclaim my rest time. It’s a tiny ritual, but it protects my mental bandwidth.

If you’re also an entrepreneur stuck in that 24/7 alert cycle, and scented candles with synthetic fragrances leave you feeling heady, this quiet bedtime habit might be worth testing.

Generally speaking, Qi Tu incense, Piqiu incense and Xiao Yao incense are good choices for bedtime. Or you can do a short quiz here, so that you can watch the daily care suggestions and suggested incense for self care.