Counting sheep is a mental exercise used in some European cultures as a means of lulling oneself to sleep. It most likely arose from Yan Tan Tethera, a traditional numbering system used by some northern English shepherds to count their flocks. ^{[citation needed]} A European is primarily a person who was born into one of the countries within the continent of Europe. ... Yan Tan Tethera was a traditional numeric jargon used by shepherds to count sheep in northern England and southern Scotland. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... Shepherd in FăgăraÅŸ Mountains, Romania. ...

In most depictions of the activity, the practitioner envisions an endless series of identical white sheep jumping over a fence, while counting the number that do so. The idea, presumably, is to induce boredom while occupying the mind with something simple, repetitive, and rhythmic, all of which are known to help humans sleep.

Although the practice is largely a stereotype, and rarely used as a solution for insomnia, it has been so commonly referenced by cartoons, comic strips, and other mass media, that it has become deeply engrained into popular culture's notion of sleep. The term "counting sheep" has entered the English language as an idiomatic term for insomnia. Sheep themselves have become associated with sleep, or lack thereof. For example, an ad campaign of the Serta mattress company features the Serta Counting Sheep, a flock of animated sheep who resent the said company's mattresses for supposedly rendering their services unnecessary. For the 1996 Blur single, see Stereotypes (song). ... This article is about the sleeping disorder. ... In general, a reference is something that refers to or designates something else, or acts as a connection or a link between two things. ... A cartoon is any of several forms of illustrations with varied meanings that evolved from its original meaning. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Popular culture, sometimes called pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... An idiom is an expression (i. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... Serta is a company that specializes in making mattresses. ... See also Mattresses, a race in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy A pillowtop queen-size mattress. ... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ...

According to an experiment conducted by researchers at Oxford University, counting sheep is actually an inferior means of inducing sleep. Subjects who instead imagined "a beach or a waterfall" were forced to expend more mental energy, and fell asleep faster than those asked to simply count sheep. Sleep, by the same token, could be achieved by any number of complex activities that expend mental energy. The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

See also

• Count Your Sheep, an online comic inspired by counting sheep
• Zzz is an onomatopoeia for sleeping in comics and animated television series as well as some live-action series; sometimes called catching some Zs
• Log sawing is also used in comic to represent sleeping