Getting Enough Sleep While Doing a CELTA

6 CELTA-Specific Reasons to Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep

Though the Internet may seem chockablock with articles about the importance of sleep, it is discussed at great lengths for very good reason. Getting a good night’s sleep is incredibly important for functioning in day-to-day life. Interestingly, many of the proven benefits of sleep are also directly related to the successful completion of your CELTA course!

Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of work that needs to get done in the CELTA program, my sleep suffered a serious blow in the first week. Luckily, I decided fairly early on to turn things around and I can honestly say that in hindsight, the decision to prioritise sleep was crucial in ensuring my success.

So whether you’ve yet to begin your 4 weeks, you’re halfway through, or you’re at the finish line, take some time to look over the ways in which a good night’s sleep can benefit you, and get ready to tuck yourself in!

1. It Can Help Combat Chronic Pain

Less pain = more gain. While completing your CELTA may be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life, there is no doubt that it is a stressful undertaking. Unfortunately, stress often exacerbates chronic pain conditions, such as a sore neck, shoulders, or back.

For my friends and I, sore necks and shoulders were constant struggles during our 4 weeks of study. Luckily for us, getting a good 8 hours sleep helped to reduce our pain symptoms!

 

2. It Helps Us Consolidate Information

The applications of this one are pretty self-explanatory. The structure of a CELTA course was designed to contain a student component, where you are taught a large amount of strategies for effective ESL teaching each day. You are then expected to apply what you learn in the day to the classes you teach in the evening.

This means that while completing your CELTA, it is especially important to help your brain consolidate all the new information you are taking in so that you can put it into practice while you teach. Getting a good night’s sleep is an instrumental part of achieving this.

 

3. It Contributes to a Stronger Immune System

Due to the condensed nature of the CELTA course, it is very difficult to keep up with material if you miss days of class. In fact, the most common reason that people fail the course is due to personal health reasons that cause them to miss too many days of class to catch up!

For this reason, being in good health during the course is of the utmost importance. Getting a solid amount of sleep is important for keeping your immunity up and to help ensure that you don’t get hit with a nasty stomach flu a week into the course!

4. It Helps Us Cope With Stress

Sleep aids with emotional regulation. The intensity of CELTA often means times of extreme stress, with lots of learning curves and at times sudden changes. To cope with any situation that comes your way, emotion regulation is particularly crucial. For this reason, getting some good shut-eye is particularly important, as it has been shown to help with effective emotion regulation.

 

5. It is a Crucial Component in Improving Clarity of Thinking

Sleep is important for cognition, awareness, and decision-making, all of which you will be using constantly while you complete the course. During your time getting certified, you will be acting as a student, observer, and a teacher.

In your role as a student, you are expected to learn and study the information you are taught during class time. As an observer, you are expected to monitor your peers’ teaching and provide constructive feedback. In your role as a teacher, you are expected to apply the information you learn during class time, create your own lesson plans, and teach your own classes. Due to the demanding nature of this multifaceted role, clarity of mind is crucial!

 

6. It Boosts Your Mood

Despite the amount of time and energy your CELTA course will demand, it also has the potential to be one of the most enjoyable things you ever do!

During my time in the course, I had incredibly memorable adventures and made life long friends. However, getting inadequate amounts of sleep can significantly increase irritability, stress, anxiety, and depression. These things can really interfere with enjoying the experiences that will inevitably come your way while completing your CELTA.

 

Read more about CELTA:

Can You Fail Your CELTA Course?

Why a TEFL Certificate May Be Better Than a CELTA

My CELTA Journey: From Start to End

So You’ve Completed the CELTA… Now What?

 

About the Author

Anastasia Hunse is a CELTA-certified teacher and freelance writer.

Saxoncourt Teacher Training offers full-time CELTA courses through ITTT.

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