For many women, a bra is a necessity during the day. Equally, it’s a relief to remove this undergarment when the day ends. Wearing a bra in bed is uncomfortable, and it’s better to sleep braless.
Removing your bra before bed will lead to more comfortable sleep. You’ll move more freely and won’t experience any digging from underwires.
You’ll sweat less, reduce the risk of skin issues or infections, and breathe more easily. Also, removing a bra improves circulation, so you’ll feel better in the morning.
Many women wonder if it is OK not to wear a bra when sleeping; the answer is an unqualified yes. It’s advisable. Once you learn the benefits of sleeping without a bra, you’re unlikely to look back.
Is it Healthier to Sleep With or Without a Bra?
If you can’t get high-quality sleep, you’ll need to find out why. It’s only natural to ask yourself, “does sleeping without a bra help?” The answer to this is often yes.
Be aware of the hazards that arise from sleeping in a bra. Discomfort occurs when wires dig into your body, and various dangers to your physical health also arise. It’s undeniable that sleeping without a bra is safer.
I Don’t Like Sleeping Without a Bra
Ask yourself why you’re still reluctant to remove your bra before bed. Many myths have been perpetuated about sleeping braless over the years. Let’s do a quick Q&A on these unhelpful claims:
- Will my breasts sag if I don’t wear a bra in bed? This claim, popularized by Marilyn Monroe, has no basis in science. Gravity takes its course as we age, regardless of bedtime attire.
- Does sleeping without a bra increase breast size? Sleeping with a bra on makes swelling and artificial size increases of the breasts likely.
- Will wearing a bra overnight reduce the risk of breast cancer? As per the World Journal of Meta-Analysis, there’s no evidence of a link between the length of time wearing a bra and breast cancer diagnoses.
There are benefits to wearing a bra overnight, but it’s about personal preference. If you sleep sounder wearing a bra, consider a wireless model because this will offer more comfort and some of the benefits of going braless.
Why Should You Take Your Bra Off at Night?
Let’s review the many and varied benefits of sleeping braless:
1/ Greater Comfort
Removing a bra at the end of a long day can feel highly liberating, and you’ll feel more relaxed.
This sense of relaxation makes you likelier to enjoy prolonged, high-quality sleep. You’ll feel much better in the morning. If your body and muscles are tense, you may experience broken sleep and similar frustrations.
You may achieve this sense of zen and comfort with your bra still on. Many women find a bra restrictive to at least some extent, though.
Removing the garment can feel like a welcome respite at the end of a busy day and reduce physical and mental strain.
2/ Improved Respiration
We’re all aware of how important breathing is, but you may not realize it’s more difficult to breathe when we sleep. A horizontal position restricts the airways, making it harder for air to reach the lungs.
Struggling to access air at night leads to snoring, sleep apnea, and other, more concerning long-term issues. This is known as sleep-disordered breathing. Tight clothing, including bras (especially poorly fitted garments), can amplify the problem.
The Annals of Internal Medicine stated that sleep-disordered breathing could have repercussions, including social isolation and divorce. Thankfully, something as simple as removing a bra at bedtime can resolve this critical issue.
3/ Lymph Nodes Can Breathe
Lymphatic nodes are found in various places on the human body, most notably the armpits.
Anybody who wears a bra knows the pressure straps put on this area, and that’s one of the reasons it’s so relaxing to take off a bra at night.
Lymph nodes are home to a range of blood vessels and glands through which the body releases bacterial toxins. If these toxins aren’t removed, they’ll steadily build up, leading to swelling in the skin, including the breasts.
We mentioned that sleeping with a bra on can grow your breasts because the fabric never provides the chance to drain the lymph nodes. This size increase may not be permanent and is likely to be painful.
4/ Superior Circulation
A bra is usually a tight fit, constricting your blood circulation. That’s not just a design intended to torture women – it’s to provide the greatest support and hold the breasts in place.
Overnight, there’s no need to keep your breasts in position, so it’s a chance for your body to take a break and recover from such an effort.
By taking off your bra while you sleep, your circulation picks up speed again. This will stave off the health concerns associated with restricted blood flow, such as cramps, low body temperature, and varicose veins.
5/ Reduced Risk of Skin Conditions
Sleep is a time for the skin to recover and replenish. If you get a good night’s sleep, your skin will likely seem to glow by the morning, and taking off your bra makes this much likelier.
It’ll reduce your chances of developing a fungal infection. That may sound unsavory, but it’s always possible when the skin grows damp and moist. Keeping your bra on overnight creates a hospitable environment for such infections.
Sleep also provides your skin with several hours to recover from the compression of a bra. Push a thumb into your skin, and you’ll notice that the skin indents then bounces back.
Bra straps are akin to living under a strict, unrelenting thumb for hours at a time.
6/ Fewer Bruises and Injuries
Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and wondered where a range of bruises came from?
It may be that your bra is to blame. The garment is digging into your flesh at various points of the day, potentially causing discomfort and injury.
Removing the bra at night leaves fewer opportunities to cause such harm. Overnight is arguably the time you’re likeliest to be hurt or injured by a bra. If you’re tossing and turning, wires or other components can loosen.
If a snapped bra wire has ever stabbed your skin, it’s painful. Minimize the risk of this by keeping your bra off at night. Less damage, washing, and wearing a bra only during waking hours means your garment will likely stay in one piece for longer.
7/ Consistency in Breast Size
We mentioned that wearing a bra in bed will not keep your breasts in a standard, identical shape, and it may even have the opposite intent to what is intended.
This is because your breasts become reliant on being crammed into a bra and have no opportunity to fall back into their natural shape. This means the breasts could grow swollen, shrink, or sag, and taking a break from a bra makes this less likely.
In addition, the constant wearing of a bra will reduce the strength of the chest muscles. Essentially, your body is happy to allow a bra to do the work of maintaining shape.
Removing the undergarment before bed ensures a happy compromise.
8/ Temperature Regulation
Maintaining an appropriate core temperature is vital for sleep. If you can do so naturally, such as staying cool without relying on air conditioning, that’s recommended.
Removing a bra (or even sleeping naked) can go a long way toward keeping you cool while dozing. The absence of tight clothing on your body will prevent you from getting too warm.
This will have additional benefits. You’ll sweat less, leading to less laundry and greater comfort and health in general. Sweat can also attract bacteria that lead to ill health and infections, which we’re all keen to avoid.
9/ Bras Last Longer
Whether you’re picking up a day-to-day undergarment or lingerie to spice up your love life, bras that fit perfectly are rarer than unicorns. As per Ergonomics, this leaves many women wearing a bra of the wrong size.
When you find a bra that fits like a glove, you should take care of it. That means not wearing it to bed and prolonging its lifespan. Removing a bra before sleep means it will undertake less wear and tear, especially the underwires, which can snap with overuse.
Of course, no bra lasts forever, so you’ll need to go shopping again at some stage. By keeping your existing bras active for longer, you can postpone this inevitability and save yourself money.
10/ Bonding With Your Partner
We have focused on the physical benefits of removing a bra before bed, and there are advantages on an emotional and hormonal level that shouldn’t go ignored.
Removing a bra, like sleeping naked, is likely to bolster your self-confidence. This goes double if you’re sleeping beside a partner. They’ll love that you’re sleeping without underwear, making you feel desired.
Skin-on-skin contact with a partner can improve the release of hormones, strengthening your bond. It’s up to you if this leads to enhanced physical interaction. Just wallowing in oxytocin may be enough to leave you both feeling great.
Sleeping in a bra hinders more than it helps, so shed yours before bedtime, as you’ll likely feel better.
