Why Energy Coaching Demand Grew 400 Percent in Two Years
Something strange happened between 2022 and 2024. A niche corner of the coaching world exploded.
Energy coaching-once dismissed as woo-woo nonsense by mainstream wellness circles-saw demand jump by roughly 400 percent. That’s not a typo - four hundred percent. And honestly? The reasons behind this surge tell us a lot about where we are as a society right now.
What Exactly Is Energy Coaching?
Before we get into the why, let’s clear up the what.
Energy coaching isn’t about crystals and chakras (though some practitioners incorporate those elements). At its core, it’s about helping people understand and manage their personal energy-physical, mental, and emotional. Think of it as a systematic approach to figuring out why you feel drained at 2 PM every day, why certain people leave you exhausted,. How to structure your life so you actually have fuel left for the things that matter.
A good energy coach helps clients identify their energy patterns, recognize what depletes them, and build sustainable practices. It borrows from psychology, somatic therapy, nutrition science, and yes-sometimes spiritual traditions. But the best practitioners ground their work in observable results.
You sleep better - you’re less reactive. You stop dreading Sunday nights.
The Burnout Tsunami Nobody Saw Coming
but about the pandemic: it didn’t just disrupt our routines. It fundamentally broke something in our relationship with work and rest.
By late 2022, burnout rates had reached historic levels. Gallup found that 76% of employees experienced burnout at least sometimes, with 28% reporting they felt burned out “very often” or “always. " Traditional solutions weren’t cutting it anymore.
Take a vacation? People came back exhausted from the travel.
Practice self-care? The term became so diluted it meant everything and nothing.
See a therapist - waitlists stretched months long.
Energy coaching filled a gap. It wasn’t therapy (no digging into childhood trauma unless relevant). It wasn’t pure life coaching (less focus on goal-setting, more on sustainability). The result occupied this middle space where people could get practical help with an immediate problem: I’m running on empty and I don’t know how to refill.
Why Traditional Wellness Approaches Fell Short
Meditation apps saw their own boom during 2020-2021. Then something interesting happened-engagement dropped. Headspace reported declining daily active users. Calm laid off staff.
The issue? Passive consumption doesn’t create lasting change for most people.
You can listen to a sleep story every night. You can do a five-minute morning meditation. But if you’re still checking Slack at 11 PM and waking up to 47 urgent emails, those interventions feel like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.
Energy coaching appeals to people who’ve tried the apps, read the books, maybe even done a yoga teacher training-and still feel fundamentally depleted. They want someone to look at their actual life, their actual patterns, and help them make structural changes.
One coach I spoke with put it this way: “My clients don’t need more information. They need use support and accountability. They know they should rest more. The team need help actually doing it without feeling guilty.
The Corporate Wellness Pivot
Companies noticed something around 2023 - their employees were quitting. Not always for better jobs-sometimes for no jobs at all. The “Great Resignation” revealed that people had hit their limits.
Smart HR departments started looking beyond the standard wellness offerings. Gym memberships and fruit bowls weren’t moving the needle on retention. Some organizations began experimenting with bringing energy coaches in for team sessions or offering them as an employee benefit.
Does it work - the data is still emerging. But early reports suggest that employees who work with energy coaches report higher job satisfaction and-crucially-stay longer. For companies bleeding talent, that ROI calculation makes sense.
Who’s Actually Seeking Energy Coaching?
The demographics might surprise you.
Yes, there’s a strong contingent of wellness-curious millennials. But the fastest-growing segment? Mid-career professionals in their 40s and 50s. People who’ve achieved conventional success and realized it came at a cost they’re no longer willing to pay.
These aren’t folks looking to “improve” themselves further. They’re looking to get off the optimization treadmill entirely. They want permission and practical strategies to do less while maintaining what matters.
Another growing group: parents of young children, particularly mothers. The mental load research finally broke through into mainstream awareness, and people realized that constant vigilance about everyone else’s needs is an energy drain that requires active management.
The Science Behind the Surge
Energy coaching gained credibility partly because the science caught up.
Research on circadian rhythms became more accessible. Studies on decision fatigue entered popular consciousness. The concept of “allostatic load”-the cumulative wear and tear on your body from chronic stress-gave people language for what they’d been experiencing.
When a coaching modality can point to peer-reviewed research, it feels less like snake oil. Energy coaches started citing studies, partnering with functional medicine practitioners, and building evidence-based frameworks.
That legitimacy matters. Especially for skeptical professionals who wouldn’t touch anything that felt too alternative.
Red Flags and Realities
Let’s be honest here. Not all energy coaching is created equal.
The barrier to entry is low. Anyone can call themselves an energy coach tomorrow. Some practitioners make claims that venture into pseudoscience territory. Others charge premium prices for what amounts to common-sense advice packaged in spiritual language.
If you’re considering working with an energy coach, ask about their training, their approach, and what results their clients typically see. Be wary of anyone promising transformation in a single session or claiming they can cure medical conditions.
The good practitioners are clear about what they do and don’t address. They’ll refer out when something falls outside their scope. They track outcomes and adjust their methods.
Where This Goes From Here
Will energy coaching maintain this growth trajectory? Probably not at 400 percent annually-that’s not sustainable for any industry.
But the underlying demand isn’t going away. We’ve collectively acknowledged that burnout is real, that energy is finite, and that willpower alone won’t solve systemic depletion. That awareness doesn’t un-ring.
What’s more likely is that energy management concepts get absorbed into mainstream coaching, therapy, and wellness practices. The term “energy coaching” might fade, but the approach-helping people understand and manage their finite resources-will probably become standard.
Some predictions from people watching this space:
- Integration with wearable technology (your watch tracking HRV to inform coaching conversations)
- More insurance coverage as outcomes research builds
- Corporate programs becoming standard rather than experimental
- Hybrid models combining AI tools with human coaches
Finding Your Own Energy Answers
You don’t necessarily need to hire a coach to start thinking about this stuff.
Try tracking your energy for a week. Not time-energy. Rate each hour on a simple 1-10 scale. Notice the patterns - what consistently drains you? What consistently refills you - the data might surprise you.
Look at your calendar through an energy lens. Are your most demanding tasks scheduled when you’re sharpest, or are you trying to write important emails after lunch when your brain is mush?
And maybe most importantly: question the assumption that you should be able to do it all. That belief is relatively new, historically speaking. And it’s making a lot of people miserable.
The 400 percent growth in energy coaching tells us something. People are tired - not just sleepy-fundamentally depleted. And they’re looking for answers beyond “try harder” and “sleep more. " Whether that answer comes from a coach, a therapist, a book, or a long conversation with a friend who gets it-the search itself is healthy.
Being intentional about your energy isn’t self-indulgent. It’s increasingly necessary.
