Sleep with or without a bra?

Is it better to sleep with or without a bra? This is certainly one of the questions that we women have asked ourselves at least once in our lives!

The bra has always been the protagonist of urban legends and false myths. The most recurring? Sleeping with a bra is bad.

Women seem to be divided into two groups: there are those who wear a bra even at night for fear that it will give way and those who take it off as soon as they get home to feel free but also because they are afraid that it might cause irritation.

And do you prefer to sleep with or without a bra?

Why do some women prefer to sleep with a bra and others without?

“Sleeping with or without a bra is a matter of personal preference,” says Suzanna Wong, a doctor of chiropractic and holistic health expert.

Above all, the size of the breast plays a fundamental role. Women with large breasts feel more comfortable with support, even at night. Those with small breasts don't feel the weight of them and therefore often don't need to sleep with a bra on. Regardless of the size of the breasts, those who have undergone surgery (after the first 3/6 months of post-surgery) usually no longer feel the need to wear a bra either during the day or at night. But even in this case it is subjective, there are exceptions!

But beyond personal preferences, is it better to sleep with or without a bra?

Sleeping with a bra: what are the (potential) benefits?

Wearing a bra at night can support your breasts and prevent them from moving excessively, thus relieving pressure on your back if you have very large breasts.

If your breasts become more sensitive on certain days of the month, sleeping with a bra can help relieve symptoms and increase comfort.

If you have a nipple piercing it may be helpful to wear your bra at night to prevent it from getting caught somewhere.

If you sleep with a bra, the most important thing to do is to choose one without underwire or a bralette because during the night you move and the underwire is by its nature rigid and cannot accommodate all the positions that the body assumes while sleeping. Choose a bra made of soft, breathable fabric, without lace. One option could be a natural fiber such as cotton.

Sleeping without a bra: what are the (potential) benefits?

Sleeping without a bra can be more comfortable. In your sleep you roll over constantly, and the bra itself moves, moving around could be annoying.

If the bra is too tight it can slightly interfere with the inhalation and exhalation process. The result? A less deep sleep but nothing serious! In that case, sleeping without a bra allows you to rest better.

Plus, a bra that's too tight can make you sweat. And when sweat stays on your skin, it's more likely to cause odor and irritation.

Let's solve the dilemma: is it better to sleep with or without a bra?

To decide whether to sleep with or without, think about the most comfortable option for your breasts, back, nipples and skin. It all depends on our habits: there are no scientific studies that demonstrate that wearing a bra even at night helps keep breasts toned which, as we age, inevitably tends to lose. Being lying down, in fact, the suspensatory ligaments of the breasts are not tense and therefore the bra does not influence the tone of the muscle. On the contrary, there are no studies that advise against the use of the garment at night: the fact that it negatively influences circulation or breathing is not supported by scientific evidence.

Once you have taken the right precautions regarding the type of bra for the night, know that sleeping with or without a bra makes no difference.

But since many women unknowingly wear the wrong size/model of bras, it is often suggested to sleep without them to avoid damage!

Can bras cause breast cancer?

Absolutely not!

In 1995 two American anthropologists, Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, published a book entitled Dressed to kill . In this text the authors argued that wearing a bra, particularly the more constrictive models or those reinforced with underwires, increased the risk of developing breast cancer. The hypothesis of the two anthropologists was that the bra would interfere with lymphatic circulation, preventing the breast tissues from eliminating waste substances.

Nothing could be further from the truth! This is a baseless theory which was definitively disproved in 2014 by some researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle with a study published in the scientific journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention . The researchers confirmed that: the use of a very tight bra worn for a long period, both night and day, could only cause "lymph stasis resulting in soreness of the breasts and axillary cables", therefore nothing to do to do with breast cancer!

Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer had completely overlooked well-known and proven risk factors, such as changes in diet, growing obesity rates, increased sedentary lifestyle, decreased breastfeeding, etc.

The hypothesized mechanism (i.e. the stagnation of lymphatic fluid) has no confirmation in the physiology of the breast. The lymph of the breast is in fact drained at the level of the lymph nodes in the arm, which are not compressed by the bra, while there are no drainage routes at the level of the fold under the breast.

Therefore the use of a bra is in no way correlated with the disease, other factors, such as family history or the use of hormones, have been confirmed to be relevant in favoring the development of this type of tumor.

Pina Chiocchetti / Founder OH LA BRA