Advances in Medicine

Why North Texas women should attend life-changing sleep lecture series

Every night in many households across the nation, women find it challenging to get the necessary seven to nine hours of sleep. Some suffer from sleep-related conditions. Some have a hard time managing stress and anxiety. And then there are others who are experiencing physical changes that make sleep uncomfortable or difficult.

It’s for these reasons that Texas Health Resources and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health have come together to bring North Texas women a lecture series called “Women and the Importance of Sleep.” The lectures are designed to provide education on the importance of sleep by emphasizing the mind-body connection, as well as possible illnesses that can result from a sleep deficiency. Other topics covered in the lecture series include sleep debt and tips for getting more peaceful rest.

This lecture series epitomizes the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health’s successful hospital partnerships. The Laura W. Bush Institute focuses on women’s health issues as well as sex- and gender-based medicine.

Call to action
The impetus for the lecture series is both prudent and pragmatic. For women, a sleep deficiency can lead to a host of chronic health and wellness issues. Although many busy women think of sleep as a luxury, it’s truly a necessity.

The physicians who lead the lecture series explain the risks associated with a lack of sleep (including the increased risk for illness), clinical sleep disorders, and ways to cope with everyday life events so that sleep can improve. Attendees are invited to hear the expert medical commentary free of charge.

Learn more about the unique sleep experiences and challenges for women, as well as a host of other sleep-related topics, by attending the Advances in Medicine lecture series. Upcoming lectures are scheduled for October 15 at Texas Health Plano, October 16 at Texas Health Dallas and October 24 in Allen.

Lectures are complimentary with limited space. Reservations are required and can be made online or by calling 877-847-9355.

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Note: Doctors on the medical staff practice independently and are not employees or agents of the hospital.

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

safety texas wallethub reports