Is wearing a Bra bad for your overall breast health?

Your bra might be hurting you.

This is a fairly unheard of concept. Victoria’s Secret, magazines and Hollywood have romanticized the idea that we need bra’s, lots of them, and that they make us more beautiful. Growing up, the thought of women walking around without a bra on was pretty shocking.

It was a super outlandish, unsanitary(what?) thing for a woman to do. Only hippies go around without bras, and that is because they are on something. 

You might need to ditch your bra.

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That was pretty much my relatives mindset, and so naturally that had become my mindset too.

Flash forward 10 years, 5 semesters of college, more than a few all nighters and a lot of internet health and wellness research later.

It dawned on me that there might be a reason that every night when I take my bra off, there is less tension and stress on my back.

What kind of muscle and tissue restriction actually happens while wearing a bra 14 plus hours a day, and how does that effect my breast health?

The Truth about Breasts

With the prevalence of breast cancer and a lot of other now common health issues that effect us as women. I think that it important that we do everything we can to be as healthy and open minded as possible. Let’s begin:

Every woman in america owns bra’s, and lots of them.

They are, it seems, as much a necessity as wearing a shirt or pants when you leave the house, and yet to me its questionable why.

Aside from the obvious: That people can tell when you don’t wear one.

Well, nowadays, the idea of not wearing a bra 24/7 is:

1. Not so out there. (They are NOT comfortable)

and

2. Not wearing one might actually be better for your breast health.

There has been speculation about whether or not wearing bras is the best thing for our breast health.

Basically, a bra’s purpose is to support the breasts. It is also to make them look full, perky, larger, or in the case of sports bra’s, strap them down. As well as from a societal standpoint, make sure the nipples are hidden.

I think I speak for all women when I say that I want to keep my breasts healthy, perky and full for as long as I can.

I also know that a lot of people’s initial reaction to the whole “bra burning” thing is to say that I’m another bare-foot hippie talking about women’s rights.

Well, take it or leave it, bras could be causing a significant amount of health problems for women.

Wearing an underwire bra 24/7 can cut off circulation to your breasts, as well as stop the flow of lymphatic fluid to the breast tissue.

Doing that all day long, most or everyday, can cause numbness in the breast tissue, as well as actually make your breasts less firm when you take off your bra.

And isn’t what your breasts look and feel without a bra more important that how they look in one?

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The Science behind healthy Breasts…

I had read an article a while back at  about how wearing a bra all the time can lead to poor elasticity in breasts.

Because while your breasts contain more fat than muscle, there are muscles in your chest and in your breasts that get no use by wearing a bra instead of letting them do their job.

“Medically, physiologically, anatomically – breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra.”

The article goes on to talk about the connections to back pain, breast saggy-ness, and how even just wearing the wrong size bra (which a lot of women are, I was until just 6 months ago and I’m 23) can damage your breasts.

Now, while exercising, I do suggest wearing a good supportive sports bra with no wire.

Your breasts have muscle tissue that does need the exercise, (push ups and other chest workouts are really good for that). But jumping around, jogging, workouts like jumping jacks, can tear at your suspension muscles in your chest.

Not wearing a bra most of the time though, will give these muscles a good chance to get to work.

Getting a good sports bra is important. I have seen/tried so many of those weak bra’s without real cups that claim to be sports bra’s. They just don’t work. Some sports bra brands that I really like are FITTIN and Champion. (Affiliate links).Their bra’s are supportive, and a lot of them are seamless which is really nice. 

If you are anything like me, you need something supportive during an intense workout, and both of these brands are sure to hold up.

Other options.

There are also regular bra’s that do not have underwire and are still supportive, these will not cut of lymphatic circulation. Some really good brands are, Titlenine and Thirdlove (I am not sponsored by these brands, but I am a fan) and there are a lot of really good off brands as well.

I also have a post that called 5 Wireless Bra’s you can buy for under $30, and you can see that post here.

In my own experience with this, I have found that if I’m at home, there is no need for a bra. Since it’s just myself and my husband at home most generally it really doesn’t matter.

If I’m out, usually I’ll wear one. If it’s cold outside and I can wear a thick enough hoodie or coat, I don’t. When I’m at work I have to because that would definitely be unprofessional.

I used to wear one all day every day, sometimes even to bed. I haven’t been wearing a bra all the time for about three years now, and now that I don’t, my breasts feel more firm, rounder, and I have more feeling in them! Its actually an amazing difference and I’m not the only one who has noticed.

If anything, it’s worth giving it a try. Your boobs will thank you.