Should you wear a bra at night? This is what science says

Should you wear a bra at night? Old wives’ tales proclaim wearing a bra to bed will keep your girls perky later on in life and even Marilyn Monroe once said she wore her bra at night so her breasts wouldn’t sag. But medical advice from Norma Jeane aside, what does science say about wearing a bra to bed?

According to a 15-year study from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in France, wearing a bra can do more harm than good to your breasts in the long run, no matter if worn during the day or at night. The experiment followed hundreds of women over a decade and a half period between the ages of 18 and 35 and carefully measured the changes in breast appearance in the women who wore a bra versus the women who went without.

The study found that women who never wore bras, “had nipples on average seven millimetres higher in relation to their shoulders each year than regular bra users.” The bra-less sample group also appeared to maintain firmer breasts and had lesser appearances of stretch marks.

However, the findings don’t apply to all women. According to researchers, women 45 years and older likely wouldn’t derive any benefit from throwing away their bras, nor would women who have worn bras their entire lives. The researchers admitted they needed a larger sample group with a greater age range to further develop their findings, as the study was limited to women aged 35 and younger.

Another 1999 Australian study looked at breast pain during exercise and found that, unsurprisingly, wearing a sports bra greatly diminished breast pain during a workout.

Ultimately, all women are different and will experience differences in how their breasts age, bra or no bra. Specifically for older women or women with larger breasts, bras can aid in back pain relief or simply make them feel more comfortable, both socially and physically. So while the study suggests younger women should free the nipple, we wouldn’t burn all of your bras just yet.