How to fix "java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native thread" on a Linux develoipment laptop

I am developing and running automated JVM Java performance tests on my laptop. Most of them use many thread polls extensively. I run into the following issue:

java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native thread

I am running on Ubuntu 16.04.6 LTS and Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.181-b13, mixed mode).

How can I develop and run my performance tests locally on my laptop before I submit them to being run in the performance test environment?