People count on them to send them to sleep (5)

I believe the answer is:

sheep

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'people count' is the definition.
'sheep' can be an answer for 'people' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'count' bit.

I can't explain the remainder of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sheep that I've seen before include "Wool provider" , "Timid followers" , "Ruminant animal" , "Ewe" , "feature of 21/23 [NATIVITY SCENE]" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail and The Irish News.

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