The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for controlling a number of allowed downlink/uplink (DL/UL) switching points. For example, the method may include acquiring a shared channel occupancy time (COT) that includes one or more DL bursts and/or UL bursts. The method may also include utilizing one or more of the DL bursts or the UL bursts as a reference burst. The method may also include deriving a metric for controlling the number of DL/UL switching points in the shared COT based on the reference burst. The method may also include comparing the metric to a threshold value. The method may also include setting the number of DL/UL switching points in the shared COT based on the comparison of the metric to the threshold value.