Thanks for sharing this! I can relate to a lot of these:
* the attempts at strict protocols and sleep hygiene (including doing CBT-I)
* the anxiety loop about sleep itself perpetuating sleep disturbances
But accepting wakefulness and often at times when feeling inspired, to just go with the flow and getting it out has really helped me too! Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night anxious, other nights with lot of new ideas, and instead of now worrying about them, acknowledging them and dealing with it (meditation, journaling, parking them, or just going to work), helps me resume sleep even after multi-hour interruptions!
Glad to hear there are others out there too :)
PS: I also wrote a brief post about my own sleep experience if anyone's curious!