I've never had my cortisol levels tested. But based on what I've read, I knew I had it chronically probably about 1 year ago. I was taking a caffeine pill daily(for years), then doing cardio, every day, first thing in the am. Then taking a preworkout supp that contained caffeine (of course) for every workout(6 days a week). So from all that I was staying lean and looking pretty good, but my energy wasn't all that great.
Then I decided to finally after years, do some bulking. I started Gh for the first time in my life, and also threw in some Anavar. I cut out the caffeine and the morning cardio, slept longer. Ate more food, didn't train like a nut, still a lot of training, but made a point to not go too intense and cut into my CNS. I was tired all the time from the Gh and Var, but I made a point to make sure I got my butt in bed and I slept like a rock. I also made a point to take a nap on both weekend days(hadn't done that in years), could barely keep my eyes open, so not much choice, lol. I was making great progress, but I had to abandon it all, the overeating and the Gh dose(only got up to 4Ius) and the orals, because of my BP. I know that my CNS and cortisol levels recovered immensely from all that sleeping and laying off of stimulants.
I learned from that experience that caffeine can be addictive mentally. I don't drink coffee, but like I said, it was every morning with a pill. I haven't taken a pill in months and sometimes I do a half scoop of C4 for pre workout. I think that's totally a mental thing.
I use to think overtraining and CNS burnout was total BS. I've changed my tune. It can be a slow road that we travel and not really aware. We can think that just because something is OTC and legal that it can't be detrimental. Not true. If you are cutting sleep short, taking caffeine in the form of coffee, pills, or Monster drinks, in order to get through the day and get through your workouts, it's time to reevaluate.
Commit to getting to bed every night at the same time so you can get a good 8 hours and if possible take some naps on your days that you don't work. Trust me, you will feel much better. I know I do. Thanks for letting me rant.