Can I Wear a Sports Bra Every Day?

There’s no denying: Knix sports bras are comfortable. And, increasingly, they’re stylish too. As we blur the lines between leisurewear and sportswear, and our offices become increasingly casual, it becomes natural to reach for your sports bra more often than your regular bra for everyday wear.

But is wearing one that often okay? Is it bad for your breast tissue or your health? Let’s explore...

Why You Might Want to Wear a Sports Bra Every Day

In case you may wonder just why we would want to swap wearing our everyday bra for a sports bra, here are some compelling reasons: 

Support (Without Wires)

Sports bras are designed to give you lots of support to prevent pain when doing high-impact exercises. They’re usually made of thicker and more elastic fabric than regular bras and cover more surface (full cup and more back coverage) than regular bras.

For a regular bra to give you that much support, it will often have a wire, which many women find painful. But a sports bra offers that support, and more, without the wire. For anybody who has struggled with wired bras (pain, discomfort, even allergic reactions), a sports bra can be a compelling alternative.

Comfort & Pain Prevention

Not only do sports bras offer extra support, but they also are arguably much more comfortable. The lack of wire means they allow your body to expand and contract without feeling tight on the ribs. The wider back and shoulder bands often mean that weight is distributed more evenly. Many women find they're less likely to experience pain from shoulder or back straps.

Sweat Management (aka Boob Sweat)

Sports bras are quite literally designed to cope with the sweat of intense exercise. So if you experience a lot of boob sweat (especially in warmer months), wearing a sports bra can be a great choice.

Sweat in itself is not something to worry about. It’s part of an active life, really. But it can cause:

• Chafing 
• Rashes
• Odor
• Irritation / infection
• Self-consciousness

… and that’s when you’ll want to do something about it.

Style

Yep! Some of us love the simple, pragmatic style of sports bras. And, of course, in recent years, athleisure wear has undergone a significant style overhaul. Now you can get sexier cuts, different colors, strap designs you’ll want to show off, and much more.

Injuries or Surgery Healing

If you have an injury or are healing from surgery, your doctor may recommend wearing a sports bra for providing additional support, restricting movement, and keeping you comfortable while you heal.

Cautions to Take When Wearing a Sports Bra All the Time

There are some who believe that wearing a sports bra daily can be detrimental to your breast health. We do not believe this as strongly, simply because it’s a very sweeping statement about a garment that comes in many different styles, materials, and support intensities.

Instead, use your own judgment and consider the following:

Fit & Comfort Are Critical

This goes without saying for any bra, but it is absolutely essential that you wear the right size sports bra. If it’s too tight, it’s really going to compress your breasts and impact circulation (sometimes more so than an everyday bra that doesn’t have as much, or as thick, material).

Put another way, if you find your sports bra causes any of the following, don’t wear it for prolonged periods:

• Discomfort: Don’t tolerate uncomfortable bras of any kind; this includes a too-tight band hurting your ribs or straps that dig into your shoulder. You deserve better!
• Red marks: If you have red marks when you remove a bra, it’s a sign that it’s too tight and might be affecting your circulation
• Overall tightness: You should be able to breathe normally and not feel like you’re squished and misshapen in your bra.

Sometimes, Let Your Boobs “Relax”

Most of us don’t wear the same shoes every day, and it just makes intuitive sense to give your boobs a break from any kind of bra. You might want to go braless sometimes, or opt for a soft-cup bra that gives you a more natural silhouette. 

It’s just like stepping out of heels and into trainers or slides for a day, giving your boobs a chance to breathe and relax and not feel pushed and pulled too much. If you don’t feel like you want to go braless during the day, consider sleeping braless. 

Letting your breasts relax and move, promotes lymph drainage and circulation, which is essential for your health. To encourage this, you can massage your breasts or use a dry body brush. It may feel strange at first to massage your breasts, but it really helps promote skin health and circulation (and, really, why wouldn’t you?!)

Variety Is the Spice of Life

Generally, your feeling is that you shake things up for your boobs and not give yourself hard, inflexible dos and don’ts. Maybe sometimes you want the shape and lift that an underwire gives. Perhaps other times you prefer being braless. 

For myself, I keep a variety of bra styles, from simple pullover styles to soft cup, underwire, and sports bras give me choice without pigeon-holing me. The one thing I demand of them all is that they fit!

You Need to Wash Your Bras Often

Whether you’re looking at a normal everyday bra or a sports bra, maintenance is essential. If you’re wearing a sports bra to work out in, you’ll want to wash it after every workout. 

It’s important to remember that these fabrics are designed to absorb sweat. But sweat can also start to break them down if it’s not rinsed out. So while it’s okay to wear a sports bra for a prolonged period of time, once you’ve worked up a sweat in them, it’s time for the washing machine (or hand wash).

Different Kinds of Sports Bras

One of the main reasons we don’t like having hard and fast rules about what you can wear as your everyday bra is because bras come with so many options that it’s a sweeping generalization.

Learn more about the differences between normal bras and sports bras. High level, here are the different kinds of sports bras:

1. Compression

Compression bras focus on doing exactly that - compressing your boobs against your chest wall so they lie as flat as possible against your body. By compressing you, they minimize movement and bounce.

However, compression bras do not have cups built-in for each breast and can also cause an appearance of “uni-boob.” Many women won’t be bothered by this, but others will want to preserve their breast shape even when working out.

2. Encapsulation

Encapsulation bras do have cups that surround and shape each breast. There is generally no compression with these bras, which makes them ideal for low-impact activities.

Because each breast is “cupped,” encapsulation bras do a good job preserving your natural body shape.

3. Encapsulation-Compression

Don’t want to choose? You don’t have to. There are bras that do both! These bras usually have an inner layer that provides cupped support and an outer layer or band of material that compresses your boobs against the chest wall.

These bras provide the best-of-both-worlds in terms of both appearance and support and can be good for high impact levels of exercise and all sizes of chest.

Other Sports Bra Features to Consider

In addition to compression or encapsulation as types of bras, there are other features that provide more options for you. Depending on your size, style, and exercise impact level, some of these features may be more important than others.

• Adjustable straps: Adjustable straps allow you to lengthen or shorten straps depending on your torso size and shape. For larger bust sizes (C cup and above), adjustable straps are more important as more support is required.
• Strap style: As sports bras have become more fashion-forward (and are often worn revealed, or even without tops), different styles of straps have emerged. There’s the traditional tank top style (often a pullover bra). There are also racerback—if you experience slipping shoulder straps a lot, you may love this style. There are also crisscross straps that make a bigger style statement.

Fit Is Essential, So Try a Virtual Fitting

If there’s one lesson from this, it’s that no matter what style of bra you wear every day, the right fit is essential not just to your comfort but also to your health. 

As an online retailer, we know it can be incredibly daunting to make a bra purchase online. That’s why we developed our virtual fit program. Learn more about it today and book your appointment!

What to Expect from a Knix Virtual Fitting:

• Book your virtual fitting here
• We’ll connect you with one of our expert Knix team members for a 1-on-1 fitting session over video chat. 
• For your bra fitting, we recommend you wear a bra with little or no padding and a fitted t-shirt to make sure we get an accurate measurement. You’ll also need either a) a soft measuring tape or b) a piece of string or cord and a tape measure or ruler.
• With different styles and sizes for 30A to 42G in the world’s most comfortable and supportive wireless bras, our fit experts can help you get into something that you will love to wear every single day.

Written by Jane Flanagan — Updated on November 1, 2021.

We hope you found this post informative — but remember: we’re not doctors and this post is not medical advice! While all posts are fact-checked and well researched, we always recommend you chat with your doctor about any questions or concerns you might have regarding a medical condition. We’re here to support and educate, but never with the aim of disregarding professional medical advice you’ve been given. Phew, now that that’s out of the way, you can go on living unapologetically free.