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The meaning and origin of the expression: Counting sheep

Counting sheep

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'Counting sheep'?

Counting sheep is a distraction technique used to help people get to sleep.

The mental distraction of imagining a field of sheep and counting them is intended to distract insomniacs from fretting about being awake and relax into sleep.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Counting sheep'?

The expression 'Counting sheep'.Insomnia has probably always been with us, likewise sheep. The counting sheep technique, like other distraction exercises, is effective for some people who find it difficult to get to sleep.

We have evidence of this particular technique, of counting sheep as they are imagined in a field or jumping a fence, being used from at least 1854. That's from Seba Smith's Way down East; or Portraitures of Yankee life:

"He shut his eyes with all his might, and tried to think of sheep jumping over a wall."

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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