Everybody knows the purpose of wearing bra, and not talking about the social, dogmatic reasons, more of health and practical related reasons, from which the most important are:
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Weight distribution – meaning distributing the weight of bust to the shoulders and waist.
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Appearance – it does influence the way you look, giving shape to your body and allowing you to put on some tighter clothes.
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Protection – doing sport without a bra can be dangerous, especially if you are gifted with larger breasts.
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Avoiding pain – your bra wears round 80% of your breasts weight, leaving 20% of the weight carried by your shoulders and back, thus preventing back and shoulder pain.
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Comfort – bras reduce the unwanted movement of breasts, giving your less discomfort.
Despite the obvious reasons, a lot of people argue whether is good or bad to wear a bra, and the world has not yet agreed on either one of these two. The above mentioned reasons are not enough for many women round the globe, so researchers have done some extensive research to prove otherwise. And the researches are done according to some myths commonly known for wearing and not wearing a bra:
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It is necessary to wear a bra – in order to look “normal”. The most abused myth ever, who gives the right to anyone to judge what is right or wrong, or normal or not normal. Your breasts are as normal as they can be just like nature made them, free of clothes and bra (clothless in a certain like, not nude of course). The shape of your breasts is more normal braless than with any bra, and don’t let the social burden of “you have to wear it to look beautiful” burden you any further.
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Bra helps you fight gravity – can’t get any farther from the truth, it is just the opposite. Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon from the France’s Besancon University made a 15 year study studying breasts of 330 women between 18 and 35, and came to the opposite conclusion, that wearing bra make your breasts saggy, mainly because of the lack of pressure on your breasts and normal muscle tissue development, giving more support, more lift and higher nipple positioning! Furthermore, women who did not wear any bra felt no discomfort or any pain after a braless day!
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Keep your perkiness while sleeping with a bra – not really, because bras help you keep your boos from vertical stress, not horizontal. Some women do sleep with a bra; however, there is no evidence in supporting the claim, and on the other side, there is no evidence backing up the opposite. If you feel more comfortable wearing a bra while sleeping, go ahead and do it, no harm can come from it if the bra is not too tight, but don’t expect perkier breasts in the morning either.
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Bra caused breast cancer – In 2014 researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle made a study which showed no evidence of whatsoever or any link with bras and breast cancer. “The risk was similar no matter how many hours per day women wore a bra, whether they wore a bra with underwire, or at what age they began wearing a bra,” said Lu Chen, a researcher at Fred Hutchinson. So if you are or not wearing a bra, don’t be scared, it won’t be the reason for any changes that might or might not occur.
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Big boobs, tighter straps – quite the opposite, large breast require wider straps to lower the tension and let your ligaments do their work. Wearing a tight bra will make your breasts sag more and more.
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Bras are recommended during workout – this is partially true. True because you do need a bra while exercise or doing any sport, and not fully true because you should not use just any bra. There are new technologies and innovations now, and this new type of bra is getting more and more popular. Bras are now seamless, with no underwire, putting aside any danger of hurting yourself, the materials are designed to move moisture away, dries much faster than regular bra, smell better (anti-odor), and have the ability to move with you, making you feel as comfortable as possible. Check out products like Knix.
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Bras are recommended during pregnancy – goes same as the one above. When pregnant your breasts might grow more than usual, and you will need some support, and again wear a special bra. This same rule applies if you are overweight, breastfeeding, or having very large breasts and some will recommend taking this new and special bra off at night.
Whatever you decide, wearing bra or not, please just follow some small instructions, just to be on the safe side. Choose your bra accordingly to your boob size, not too tight not too lose. Try and wear it only when at work or when working out and doing sports, and take it off when going to bed. Don’t give a damn what people think, it’s your body, your rules. If you are still shy and need some support, choose your day, no bra day, and make your experiment. You will see how your friends react, how people see you, and choose what to do afterwards. And don’t worry, it is a bra, make it an accessory. The only necessity you really need is happiness, so be yourself, go barefoot and bra-free, see how it feels, you’ve got nothing to lose!
