Casper is a dentist, but for the past year, she’s been talking to her patients about their sleep habits, in addition to how often they floss and brush.

"It’s actually very logical for a dentist to ask these questions," says Casper, a Fox Point dentist and member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. "There are several sleep disturbances with dental implications. And many patients also see their dentists far more frequently than they see their physicians."

"Sleep disorders are very undiagnosed," notes Karen Block, administrator of Endeavor Therapy & Sleep Center in Mequon. "And with the baby boomers, we have an aging population. It’s estimated that by the end of the decade, one in five people will have developed sleep apnea."

Block says that age has an effect on how we sleep.

"As we age, just like everything else on our body, the tissues in our throat become less elastic," she says. "People assume that not sleeping well is just a function of getting older, and because the symptoms can develop so gradually, people also don’t realize that they might have a sleep disorder."

The granddaddy of all sleep disturbances is also the most deadly: obstructive sleep apnea. It’s the condition that is suspected of taking down football great Reggie White, and its long-term cumulative effects can be hard on your body as well.

"Sleep apnea can raise your blood pressure because it causes surges in adrenaline-like compounds," says Dr. Don Harden of the Sleep Wellness Institute Inc. of West Allis. "That puts stress on your heart because your pulse rate rises in anticipating of ‘doing something.’ But you’re not doing anything; you’re sleeping."

Serious sleep apnea can cause you to stop breathing hundreds of times a night and eventually this pattern can cause your heart rate to simply stay elevated, which can lead to high-blood pressure and hypertension.

Poor sleep can also have an effect on your waistline. Though it’s hard to consume calories while asleep, inefficient or poor sleep can cause the pounds to creep on.

"While research is still looking into the reasons why there is a connection to obesity, it may have something to do with hormones released in the brain," says Angela Mueller of the Sleep Wellness Institute Inc.

Many of the effects of poor sleep are interconnected. Remember the increase in those adrenaline-like compounds? Harden further explains that some of these compounds might just have an effect the next day on what you decide to eat.

"One of the hormones that is released is grehlin, an appetite stimulant," he says, but cautions that to what extent this has on diets is not completely known yet. "The grehlin level climbs as the pressure grows higher."

By the same token, researchers have discovered that a lack of sleep and/or shorter periods of sleep also reduces the body’s levels of the hormone leptin, an appetite suppressant and metabolism regulator.

People who sleep poorly also don’t have the energy that they should have, and this can contribute to obesity as well.

"Part of the problem is too little productivity," adds Block. "And if people wake up tired, they think they need to give themselves a boost to feel better, be it a can of Red Bull or some food that makes them feel better."

That increased appetite often leads people to poor food choices, which can not only lead to weight gain, but also diabetes and other related issues.

"Many of these issues are circular in nature, and tend to play off of each other," says Harden.

The solution to sleep problems is not always easy, but the first step is to start with good sleep hygiene.

"Think about your ‘sleep style,’" says Block. "You need to sleep in a regular bed and maintain a consistent, regular schedule."

According to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine’s Sleep Medicine Department, the amount of sleep each person needs varies. For most adults, seven to nine hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as five hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day. Teenagers need about nine hours on average.

The symptoms of a sleep disorder are often not recognized by the individual. In fact, it’s often a spouse, partner or family member that will raise the issue.

"Snoring is a big issue," says Mueller. "Family members will often say, ‘I can hear him stop breathing at night.’"

But then a certain awareness can creep in.

"People will sometimes realize they can sleep a full eight hours and wake up feeling horrible and tired the next day," she says. "Or they may have gone through 10 different kinds of sleeping pills — and eventually sleeping pills will stop working — to get to sleep."

And then there are also the tell-tale signs that a trained professional looks for.

Casper says there can be a link between bruxism or teeth grinding; the soft-tissue obstruction that can cause snoring; the size and shape of the tongue and soft palate and even "kissing tonsils" or tonsils that touch in the middle of the throat.

Females with a neck circumference of 16 inches or greater or males with a neck measurement of 17 inches or greater are also at higher risk for sleep disorders. Obesity is another red flag, though sleep apnea and other related disorders can occur in slender people as well.

"These are all things that I look for in an exam," she says. "As a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, I follow extremely strict guidelines. I don’t diagnose sleep disorders, but I certainly can screen and prepare a medical referral. Sleep disorders are conditions that need to be treated, both for your current good health and for the future as well."