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This reminded me that when I try to imagine things while almost sleeping the imagination will be actively sabotaged unless I focus very hard to wressle back control.

If I'm thinking of a plane flying it will spin out of control, if I'm thinking of sheep jumping over a fence they will stop moving or the fence will fall over.

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I always wondered why people would suggest "counting sheep" as it seemed like something that'd keep me awake rather than feel sleepy. I seem to have some form of aphantasia as I can only conjure up very disjointed and foggy images with no real details.

So imagining not only one sheep but a number of sheep on a field jumping over a fence is something I can only just barely approximate with such considerable mental effort that it even makes me feel slightly anxious. This seems entirely unlike what the exercise apparently is meant to accomplish.

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