sheep

Counting sheep refers to a mental exercise people sometimes use to try to fall asleep. It involves visualizing a series of sheep jumping over a fence and counting them one by one

Here’s a breakdown of its etymology and background:

• Origins in Shepherding:
  
  • A popular theory links the practice to ancient shepherding. Shepherds, particularly in regions like medieval Britain, needed to keep accurate counts of their flocks. It’s thought that the repetitive act of counting sheep during the day might have carried over into their nighttime thoughts
  • Specifically, there is a connection to old Celtic sheep counting systems, such as Yan Tan Tethera, used in Northern Britain. These systems involved unique number word