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Ask the Experts: Does sleeping with a bra cause breast cancer?

Your Question:

Dear Experts,

My mom always tells me to take off my bra before i go to bed because i can get breast cancer…..is this true???

jazmine1, 02.28.01

The Answer:

Dear jazmine1,

Nope — this is a total myth. Sleeping with a bra on doesn’t cause cancer. But your mom may be right about taking off your bra before going to sleep for other reasons like having good circulation and easy breathing.

If you’re putting in overtime with your bra to preserve perkiness, that’s a total myth too. Bras don’t preserve the shape or perkiness of breasts. Sagging results from a number of factors unrelated to bra wearing, such as

  • breast fat and tissue composition
  • softening of breast ligaments and loss of breast tissue with age
  • enlarged breasts during pregnancy, which causes the skin to stretch even after the breasts revert to pre-pregnancy size

Hope this information helps!

Take care,

teenwire.com® Editors

This column is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a medical problem, please call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN for an appointment with the Planned Parenthood health center nearest you.