The High Cost of Sleep
by Mark R. Waller, CPA
Owning a cannabis business is a high-stakes affair. There are tight regulations, cash flow challenges, and intense tax burdens like 280E. One cannot be “casual” and expect to succeed in this industry.
That said, working longer and harder is not the only way. Working long hours can lead to stress, which can lead to sleepless nights. Sleepless nights can ruin not just your business but your life, and nothing is more valuable than that.
I know this first-hand in my journey as a business owner.
My Wake-Up Call— Burnout, Stress, Bad Sleep, and Tinnitus
About a year ago, I found myself run ragged. The combination of client demands, tax deadlines, and business growth pressure pushed me past my limit, and I didn’t even realize it. After pushing myself to the max through a weekend of business networking events, I woke up with the tinnitus I’ve battled for several years blasting away in my head. It went back to its baseline later that day. In retrospect, it was a warning sign that I was pushing too hard, but I went back to my normal routine.
Later that week, I attended a concert, and the tinnitus returned even stronger, raging in the left side of my head.
An ear infection triggered the tinnitus condition over a decade ago, and the first few days of this episode felt unusual. It felt distressing when it didn’t return to its baseline after a few days, plunging me back into a fight-or-flight reaction, where this high-pitched ringing in my left ear simply wouldn’t go away.
Having experienced this before, I knew I had to pivot quickly to get my business and life in line. The first thing I did was restart my subscription with a wellness tracking device (Whoop) to see hard data about the quality of my sleep. I approached this data like it was the most important thing I could track–and frankly, it was. Taking this approach for my health was invaluable because I could immediately review data about whether I was getting sufficient sleep. Having that data greatly aided me in making better decisions for my health.
The Turning Point— Tracking Sleep and Mental Health Like I Track Business
After this major spike in my tinnitus, I had to take a step back from work to get my health back in order. I finally got that annual well-check visit that I had put off for a few years to identify other health issues that might be causing or exacerbating stress. I talked to my therapist about the stress, the tinnitus, and the work deadlines while also trying to be the best husband and father I could be. I spent a lot of time reflecting on how I had gotten to this point and how I could get back on track.
With my wife’s help and my family’s support, I slowly got better. Although my summer was rough, I slowly regained the spark I had thought I had lost. I started paying less attention to my tinnitus, which, in turn, made the tinnitus better. I started paying close attention to my sleep and recovery scores on my Whoop app. I returned to my CrossFit gym, which I realized when I stepped away from it momentarily how important that fitness was to my everyday life. By Fall 2024, I felt like a new “me”—the same me that helped push my own business forward and helped to support other business owners, but a little bit wiser and a lot more gentle to myself.
Today, I continue to track my sleep numbers every night and get excited when I see a great sleep score. Anecdotally speaking, I always get a wonderful night of deep, restful sleep when I take THC/CBN combination edibles before bed.
How Sleep Impacts Business Performance
Study after study proves that lack of sleep reduces ones ability to function well cognitively. A Harvard Business Review from 2016 article highlights the link between sleep deprivation and poor business performance, stating that financial performance, employee engagement, and even overall management can suffer when leaders are deprived of sleep.
Emotional control can also suffer, as many studies have shown that a lack of sleep can disrupt the brain’s emotional control system. Being a cannabis business owner means you can expect an avalanche of problems to solve every day, and emotional regulation is absolutely vital to ones ability to handle that nonstop stimuli.
And as a cannabis business owner, every day is important. Every hat one wears as a business owner is a different hat, and one needs mental sharpness to be able to effectively address all of those different responsibilities.
Actionable Steps— Sleep Your Way to Better Business Performance
Here are the steps I recommend to help you get the most out of your sleep:
Track and prioritize deep sleep. Data can be your best friend in matters of your own personal health. Tracking your sleep is one of the best ways to do this to know how long you rest in deep sleep —the phase of sleep responsible for brain recovery (cleaning) and growth (memory, learning).
Set a cutoff time for work. While all-nighters are sometimes a reality for business founders, try to stick to a set time to stop work. Give yourself and your business proper boundaries so you can stay healthy.
Optimize your environment. Whether it’s blackout curtains, different bedsheets, or a bedtime routine that involves something that makes you feel well, find what works for you to support better sleep.
Treat sleep as a business asset. With good sleep comes the best you, the best you will cultivate the best for your business.
The cannabis industry is extremely challenging. But sacrificing sleep is not the answer to your challenges. Tracking your sleep and stress levels is absolutely essential to your business and, ultimately, your self. And what’s more valuable than that?
Schedule a call with Morem & Waller, CPAs to talk business strategy and more:
https:/moremwaller.cpa/contact
