Best News Ever: Science Says You Should Probably Stop Wearing A Bra

There's a myth that during the women's movement in the 1970s women were burning their bras. The truth is that there may have been an incident or two, but bra-burning wasn't as rampant as you might think. However, with the knowledge that bras don't offer the benefits we once thought, this may encourage women everywhere to unclasp and toss, and start burning them for real.

Sport-science researcher Jean-Denis Rouillon, of University of Franche-Comte, said in an interview with France Info, "Medically, physiologically, anatomically, the breast does not benefit from being deprived of gravity."

The 15-year study was conducted at the university's hospital, where Rouillon measured and examined the boobs of more than 300 women, aged 18 to 35 using a slide rule and a caliper to record the changes, noting how the additional support provided by bras affects the body over time.

The findings suggested that wearing a bra from an early age did nothing to help support the chest, reduce back pain, or prevent breast sagging. The researchers believed that the women would gain more tone and supporting bra tissue if they didn't wear a bar.

In the study, women who stopped wearing bras (through their own choice, as it wasn't a requirement of the study) had a seven millimeter (0.3 inch) lift in their nipples when compared with regular bra users. Bras, the breast-scientists claim, could hamper circulation and reduce breast tone over time and actually quicken up sagging.

"For younger women, not wearing a bra will lead to increased collagen production and elasticity, which improves lift in a developing breast," Dr. Stafford Broumand, unconnected to the study, explained to Refinery 29.

Despite the results, Rouillon said it would be dangerous to advise all women to take off their bras based on the study's sample of women, which may not be representative of the population.

There wasn't anything said about the breast size of the participants, and I have to think that anyone with medium to large breasts would have some difficulties going without a bra, especially when jogging or playing tennis. Ouch, it hurts just thinking about it.

Maybe save the lighter fluid and matches for a barbecue rather than a bra-burning.