Does counting sheep really help you fall asleep?

Counting sheep may be synonymous with sleep – but does that method really help? 

A group of researchers at Oxford University decided to put the sheep technique to the sleep test and they fell flat. Participants who tried counting sheep took almost twice as long to fall asleep. It turns out that counting sheep is too monotonous and becomes a chore instead of a snore.

There is a method that you can use to snooze. Try counting waves instead. The sleepers in the study who visualized a calming beach scene had the most success falling asleep.