Does Counting Sheep Actually Work?

 

With regards to experiencing difficulty nodding off, individuals all around the world have, over the ages, come up with their own remedies for drifting off.

Some depend on a glass of milk while others count sheep.

For those of you curious about the counting sheep strategy, understand that it doesn’t require an actual sheep.

It is a psychological exercise utilized in certain societies to put you to sleep.

In many forms of the sheep sleep exercise, individuals are advised to envision a perpetual stream of white sheep bouncing over a fence, counting each as they go.

The hypothesis behind the counting sheep exercise is that the straightforward, cadenced, and redundant nature of the representation enables individuals to sleep.

In any case, does counting sheep really put an individual to sleep?

 

Counting sheep for falling asleep.

 

Those who’ve pondered over this question are not the only one.

Truth be told, to respond to this very subject of whether counting sheep helps individuals with a sleeping disorder nod off quicker, scientists at Oxford University studied individuals who experienced difficulty falling asleep and observed them as they attempted one of three unique methods.

One of the methods was counting sheep. We will get to that in a minute.

It’s most likely the most established sleep advice in the books (straight up there with sipping on a warm glass of milk), yet it turns out counting sheep in your imagination presumably won’t hush you into the Land of Nod on an eager night.

The possibility that it puts us to sleep is one of those old wives’ tales.

Anecdotally, one hypothesis is that the practice begun when early sheep herders couldn’t get to sleep at night time since they were stressed over all the sheep in their field.

So they’d relieve themselves by counting the group up to ensure they were all sheltered.

 

The counting sheep sleep study.

 

The 2001 Oxford University study split fifty light sleepers into three arbitrary groups.

One group was told to imagine quieting and serene scenes like waterfalls when endeavoring to nod off.

The second group was advised to go about their normal everyday routine so that the researchers could use them as the control group.

The last group was told to count sheep by counting imaginary white sheep as they hopped over a fence individually.

 

Sleep study results and theories.

 

Scientists found that those in the primary group who were envisioning serene scenes got to sleep roughly twenty minutes quicker than they did on other, non-trial evenings.

However, light sleepers in the group that needed to count sheep took longer than expected to nod off.

While there were no particular explanation behind this error, the scientists have numerous speculations.

Initially, the scientists believed that imagining a serene calm scene in one’s mind while trying to sleep will, in general, be more taxing than just laying down counting sheep and thus by that logic, the subjects of the secondary group should’ve fallen asleep earlier.

Video by Dr. Eric Berg DC

 

However, they were dead wrong.

 

Turns out, the increased expenditure of energy tired the mind out faster thus leading to subjects falling asleep quicker in the primary group.

Another reason that is often cited is that a serene calm scene is easy to imagine and makes for interesting visualization activity and thus easier to stick to.

At last, it might be that counting sheep is just too exhausting to even consider doing for an extended period of time.

Analysts additionally speculated that the exercise of counting sheep may likewise add to anxiety for a few, making nodding off substantially more troublesome.

Despite the fact that the sample size of the investigation was small, the outcomes unquestionably still raise doubt about this basic sleep strategy.

 

Why it failed?

 

When nodding off, it will in general be progressively useful to occupy the mind with something soothing and relaxing, as opposed to dynamic.

You need to monitor those sheep. It takes a ton of work to tally them all up.

What we would prefer not to do is enact those pieces of the mind that are related with handling data.

A superior wager may be to use our brains carefully to invoke a calming scene, for example, a beautiful sea shore. You might want to try white noise, we have written a article called.  Best White Noise Machines Available Today you can find it here.

 

Truth be told, a recent report published in the popular journal Behavior Research and Therapy demonstrated that among a group of individuals with sleep deprivation, the people who used calming visualization nodded off quicker than the individuals who weren’t given any directions.

They were also found to show lowered levels of stress and anxiety.

The subjects were told to envision “a circumstance they found to be fascinating and engaging, yet additionally lovely and relaxing.

 

So, how to fall asleep better?

 

Guided imagery is by all accounts the best methodology to quiet a racing mind.

Take a stab at imagining a beautiful waterfall or planning your favorite trekking adventure. Juts avoid anything that you require your brain to process thoughts in a way that it does when it’s awake.

Other time tested stunts for nodding off incorporate progressive muscle relaxation, meditation or a steaming shower before bed.

Also, on the off chance that you can’t nod off following 30 or so minutes in bed, sleep specialists frequently prescribe you get up and accomplish something calm and non-animating until you feel tired once more, so your mind doesn’t begin to associate the bed as a spot for wakefulness.

 

Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

 

First created in 1915, this strategy will never get old. Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxing exercise in which you efficiently tense and afterward loosen up all the muscle groups of your body.

It helps advance overall physical relaxation, which has various advantages alone.

It appeared to diminish exhaustion and improve sleep quality in a study of ladies undergoing breast cancer treatment. You can always try it out to see if it works for you.

 

Meditation.

 

In the event that you’d preferably calm your mind yet leave your muscles alone, a basic meditation exercise may likewise work.

A recent report found that meditation can help battle sleep deprivation. The specialists found that meditators rested longer and better thanks to the deep relaxing effects of the training.

Video made by PsycheTruth

Start slow and do a little bit of meditation every day for better sleep around evening time.

In the event that that is not exactly your style, even only some deep breathing can help clear your brain and better set you up for sleep.

 

Yoga exercises.

 

As a type of brain calming physical exercise, yoga may simply be the best of both worlds.

And keeping in mind that there aren’t actual scientific examinations to prove that normal yoga practice can assist you with sleep improvement, we do realize that yoga does wonders for relaxation and a great many people rely everyday on yoga to improve their health and overall sleep quality.

Video by PsycheTruth

In the event that your sleep issue is that you can’t relax, yoga could be an approach you can take to intervene.

 

Sniff aromatherapy.

 

Regardless of whether it’s an essential oil, a shower scrub, a sachet in an eye mask or even a mattress, lavender is the fragrance you’re looking for in the event that you need more and better sleep.

In a small 2005 study, a whiff of lavender before bed brought about increasingly deep sleep.

Also, a recent report found that smelling lavender helped a little group of ladies with sleep deprivation nod off more effectively.

 

Set your bedroom up for success.

 

For individuals with sleep deprivation, the room just gets disagreeable, almost like a combat area.

That is the reason we prescribe making a couple of straightforward changes to make it as comfortable a setting as could reasonably be expected.

Possibly it’s as minor as purchasing another set of comfortable sheets. Other rooms might have excessively light. Indeed, even the faintest bit – regardless of whether it’s from behind the window drapes or radiating from the alarm – can keep you up.

The room ought to likewise be quiet; consider putting resources into a white noise machine.

Set the indoor regulator for a comfortable temp somewhere close to 60 and 67 degrees.

What’s more, it would be ideal if you choose to leave the mobile phones in another room to combat distraction – or if nothing else put them on Do Not Disturb.

 

Think about supplements.

 

Fortunately most sleep supplements presumably won’t do harm.

The terrible news is that they’re not very much studied about and they’re not controlled by the FDA.

We get to hear quite a lot about melatonin but what people often don’t realize is that it is more useful for disorders that disrupt the biological clock rather than a pill to help sleep.

A dose of melatonin can help you shift your circadian cycle if you have jet lag for instance.

It’s likewise much of the time used wrong.

Melatonin doesn’t actuate sleepiness the way the majority of us envision.

Rather than directly before bed, it’s most useful if it’s taken a couple of hours before sleep time, as the body is simply starting to increase its natural creation of the sleep hormone.

Another enhancement alternative is valerian, produced using the root of the herb.

Just small studies have been done with uncertain results, as per the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health. However, a few people find it to have a relaxing impact, which means it could help with increasingly gentle sleep issues yet likely won’t cut it for a sleeping disorder.

L-theanine is an amino acid found naturally in green tea that appears to advance deep sleep.

Since drinking enough tea to truly receive the rewards would make them run to the restroom throughout the night, a few people select an unadulterated L-theanine supplement.

 

Cut caffeine earlier.

 

Caffeine has a half-life of five hours, which means five hours after your last mug of espresso, half of its caffeine substance is still in your body.

Contingent upon the amount you drink – and how strong it is – you could wind up counting sheep when you’d preferably be sawing logs.

To stay away from issues at sleep time, we suggest cutting yourself off after lunch.

 

Change to herbal tea.

 

Caffeine’s a no-no, yet sans caffeine natural tea may really help you sleep better.

Many “Sleepy Time” teas are produced using similar mixes used in supplements that advance sleep, similar to valerian or chamomile.

Also, there’s something naturally calming about a warm taste before bed, regardless of if it’s more of a sleep ritual thing or if the tea actually helps lull you to sleep quicker.

 

Related questions.

 

1. Does music help in sleeping?

 

The answer to that question heavily depends on a number of factors.

For instance, the genre of music, the volume, the method of delivery etc. Music can be a great sleeping aid if it is used properly. A lot of people use music to help them fall asleep regularly which is a testament to its effectiveness.

If you are thinking of trying out music to help you sleep better, by all means go for it. Make sure that the music you’re listening to is calming and preferably in a slower pace.

We don’t want our brain to get excited while hearing the music since that can lead to us getting completely awake. Also, keep the volume on the lower side where it’s still audible but not so much that you can feel the thump and bass of the song.

The idea is to bore your mind so that it puts the song on the back of your mind while it starts to actively relax and fall asleep. Please avoid choosing a song that is heavy on lyrics since then your brain might switch gears and start to anticipate and analyze them thus defeating the whole purpose.

Which is why, a lot of people who use music for relaxation often listen to instrumental covers or natural sounds like crashing waves or rainfall.