Couldn’t agree more for startup, quant and investment banking
They require an endless treadmill of moving the needle. Can be done on very little rest.
Operationally critical, event-specific and safety roles such as air-traffic control, surgery and body guarding are obviously stupid to do on zero sleep.
There are a subsection of society that seem to conflate these roles citing diminished returns, whilst neglecting the absolute output, which is higher.
1/ Controversial take: hard work is more important than smart work.
It's a myth that we only have a few hours of good creative work per day. Train yourself to grind long hours first. You will surprise yourself. The work naturally become higher quality, less distracted.