The phrase “counting sheep” in the context of a bedtime ritual actually has its origins in ancient Britain. Shepherds needed to count their sheep, to ensure that every member of the flock was present and accounted for, before the shepherds could go to bed for the night. As with expressions of speech that have their beginnings in the remote past, this counting system has come down to us as an aid to help us sleep.

Does counting sheep help us sleep? Many researchers have their doubts.

According to the journal Behavior Research and Therapy, scientists at the University of Oxford recruited insomniacs and separated them into groups. These groups were monitored as they tried various mental techniques to put themselves to sleep. On different nights, some groups were instructed to try counting sheep as a distraction from thoughts that prevented sleep, and other groups were given no instruction at all.

However, on nights when all groups were separately instructed to imagine a relaxing and more fascinating scene, such as a beach, the subjects fell asleep an average of twenty minutes sooner than when they were counting sheep or not concentrating on anything. . .

Scientists suspect that the mental task of counting sheep is too boring for our minds to stay on for long. More complex and pleasurable tasks, like imagining a scene in the ocean or a forest, for example, helps our mind stay focused until it finally falls asleep.

With our minds not focused on stressful thoughts, our muscles relax and we breathe more deeply, and sleep happens naturally.

This is not to say, however, that counting sheep to fall asleep is not a very effective technique for some. People who are interested in sheep, or who find them extremely cute and relaxing, can use the old Cumbrian and Yorkshire sheep counting system to their advantage.

Perhaps Chris Idzikowsky put it best at the Edinburgh Sleep Centre: “I would actually prefer controlled breathing as a mechanism, but counting sheep is just as good as long as it doesn’t irritate you.”