An important question

I went for a walk to get some fresh air and came to the field with the tups (not this field, another one). I thought that there were more of them since the last time I was up there but when I tried to count them I just kept zoning out.

So here's a question. How come shepherds don't spend much of their working life asleep? I'm betting that a significant part of the job is counting their charges so how do the avoid slumping into a narcoleptic coma? Either counting sheep works and it makes us sleep or it's all baloney and we've been misled. As it happens I know it works which is why I have posed this question. 

So is the whole staying awake thing something that shepherds learn while doing their shepherding degree or is it a genetic predisposition? Or, and this really is the question, do shepherds sleep as much of the rest of us when they count sheep and this is why we rarely see shepherds hard at work all day? Is it something that has to be factored in while calculating the number of sheep that a shepherd can look after - the "sleep time"? For every 100 sheep they need 15 minutes an hour to sleep?

Lots of questions here, lots of stuff that needs putting to bed. I've spoken to an expert today and they were unable to shed much light on it so I think that further research is needed. I'd guess we can whistle up something from the ERC or the Arts Council.