{"id":163417,"date":"2020-11-17T02:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/?p=163417"},"modified":"2020-11-17T10:07:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T18:07:06","slug":"do-you-need-to-wear-a-bra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/do-you-need-to-wear-a-bra\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It OK Not to Wear a Bra?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You might have automatically started wearing a bra around the time other girls did, not realizing you had the choice not to wear one at all. But, of course, bras are by no means mandatory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why, then, have so many of us been told to wear one? Can it do any harm not to wear a bra?<\/span><\/p>\n

The pros of going braless
\n<\/b>If you’re concerned that foregoing a bra could lead to breast sagging, you may be surprised to learn the findings of <\/span>one French study<\/span><\/a> that tracked changes in 320 women\u2019s breasts over 15 years: Women who wore bras experienced <\/span>more <\/span><\/i>breast sagging than those who didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Going braless can have a number of other advantages as well, like reducing sweating and preventing skin irritation or breakouts, says\u00a0Lina Velikova, MD, Ph.D., medical advisor at <\/span>Supplements101<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, should you never wear a bra?
\n<\/strong>Still, wearing a bra might be the best choice for some women. If you have larger breasts, for example, you might be uncomfortable without one. Or, if you have really sensitive nipples, wearing certain clothes might cause them to chafe without a bra, says Nicole E. Williams, MD, an OBGYN at the <\/span>Gynecology Institute of Chicago<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, when you’re exercising, wearing a bra can prevent potential nerve or ligament damage, says Tamika K. Cross, MD<\/a>, an OBGYN at\u00a0Serenity\u00a0Women’s Health.<\/p>\n

Make sure you wear the right bra
\n<\/strong>It also matters what kind of bra you\u2019re wearing. Bras with underwire, in particular, can dig into your skin, causing thickening or discoloration of the skin and tenderness under the breasts. “If you are going to wear a bra, make sure you get the right size \u2014 bras that are too tight will do this more,” says Williams. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sizing is especially important if you’re breastfeeding, as overly tight bras can lead to clogged ducts, says\u00a0Kathy Murphy, pediatric physician assistant and lactation consultant with SimpliFed<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the very least, it’s good to sleep without a bra. “If you wear one too much, you’re not really allowing your back muscles and neck muscles to really be able to fully develop,” says Cross. “If you\u2019re always wearing a bra, it can injure your rib cage, especially with the\u00a0<\/span>underwire.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line
\n<\/strong>Mostly, though, it all boils down to what you prefer. \u201cI advocate comfort above all, however, you may choose to be,\u201d says Williams. \u201cThere are so many other things about being a woman that are uncomfortable. Feeling bound up by an ill-fitting bra should be the least of our worries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"You might have automatically started wearing a bra around the time other girls did, not ...","author":7532795,"featured_media":163557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/17100604\/wearing-bra.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/17100604\/wearing-bra-386x200.jpg","formated_date":"November 17, 2020","category_name":"Wellness","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113835\/health-2.svg","author_name":"Suzannah Weiss","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#fcebc2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7532795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}