[frankus]

A subtext here might be to try sleep restriction when you have a period of funemployment or PTO and can deal with the consequences of being sleep-deprived and/or can distract yourself from nodding off e.g. by going for a walk, and while you don't need to operate machinery, e.g. a car.

[n8henrie]

It's a double-edged sword in some regard, though, as for some (like myself) the stress of a high-stakes job and the potential consequences of poor sleep are exactly what is preventing sleep in the first place.

I feel very lucky that the sleep physician that ran my CBT-I course helped my realize that I was able to function just fine on less sleep than I wanted, and that I sometimes functioned suboptimally on a full night's rest. Good sleep was neither necessary nor sufficient for me to passably do my job.

Thankfully, this realization helped me make more progress on my insomnia than years of sleep hygiene, and I suspect this helps me do my high-stress job better than "passably."