Stop counting, start relaxing - Sleep Science - visualization of pleasant surroundings to fall asleep faster - Brief Article

Men's Fitness, May, 2002

Here's a shocker for you insomniacs: Counting sheep doesn't work. When researchers at England's Oxford University had 50 volunteers track the woolly creatures jumping over a fence, the subjects took just as long to hill asleep as a control group. What did work was picturing oneself in a pleasant, relaxing scene such as being near a waterfall or on vacation--participants who tried that fell asleep 20 minutes taster, The researchers speculated that such visualization uses up more brain space and is easier to stick to ...

assuming, of course, that imagining a waterfall scene doesn't lead to more frequent bathroom breaks.