Three new studies have shown that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is important for adults to seek treatment for a sleep illness and aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

One study of 2,240 adults is the first to examine the link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and mortality in Asians.

Results showed that all-cause mortality risk was 2.5 times higher and cardiovascular mortality risk was more than 4 times higher among people with severe OSA.

Another study of 2,673 patients in Australia found that untreated OSA is associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes in very sleepy men as well as near-misses in men and women.

Participants with untreated OSA reported crashes at a rate three times higher than the general community.

That last study examined the relationship between sleep duration and self-rated health in Korean adults.

Results showed that short sleep duration of 5 hours or less per day and long sleep duration of 9 hours or more per day was associated with poor self-rated health.

All three of the studies are published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.