Does counting sheep work…

Counting sheep is the age old method of falling to sleep, but does it really work?

Those finding hard to sleep often seek distraction and some distractions work better than others, a team at Oxford University has found.   Researchers have discovered that picturing an engaging scene takes up more brain space than the same old sheep.  In addition it is easier to focus on an engaging scene because its way more interesting that sheep.

Harvey and her colleague Suzanna Payne asked 50 insomniacs to try different distraction techniques on certain nights, to see which helped them fall asleep more quickly. One group conjured up a tranquil and relaxing scene such as a waterfall or being on holiday, while a second were asked to think of a distraction such as counting sheep. A third group were left to their own devices.

On average, those picturing a relaxing scene fell asleep over 20 minutes earlier than on nights they didn’t try the technique. But both the sheep-counters and the controls took slightly longer than normal to fall asleep on the nights of the experiment.  The researches concluded that counting sheep is just too mundane to effectively keep worries away.

If you find it difficult to conjure up vivid visulisations, aromatherapy may help.  A few drops of lavendar, chamomile or neroli essential oils may assist you to relax and unwide, and counjure up tranquil springtime fields.

References

A G Harvey, S Payne (2002) The management of unwanted pre-sleep thoughts in insomnia: distraction with imagery versus general distraction.  Behaviour Research and Therapy vol 40, issue 4, 267 – 277

Related Posts

  • Migraines – Part 2

    In part 1, I explained the difference between a headache and a migraine.  In this article I want to explore evidence for nutritional fixes to assit migraine sufferers. [...]

  • The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 5

    In this series of articles on the impact of sitting all day I have looked at the impact on muscles (in part 1) the general impact on the [...]

  • Are you low in magnesium?

    Although we have talked in general about lots of people being low in magnesium, it begs the querstion are you low in Magnesium?  Given we can't take a test, what are the signs you can look for to see if you are low magnesium?

    • Anxiety
    • Times of hyperactivity
    • Difficulty getting to sleep
    • Difficulty staying asleep
    • Muscle spams and muscle cramping
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Facial tics
    • Eye twitches or involuntary evey movements
    In clinic we often see clients who's muscles are really tight or contracted.  Without magnesium in our body our muscles would be in a constant state of contraction.  It should be noted that calcium causes our muscles to contract.  While calcium and magnesium have actions that oppose each other they function as a team.  So you must always consider your calcium levels when considering your magnesium levels. References Seelig M, Rosanoff A. The Magnesium Factor. New York: Avery Books; 2003