Wearing a Sports Bra That Is Too Tight Can Affect Breathing While Exercising, a Study Shows

Be careful: Wearing a tight sports bra while working out may not be good for your health, according to a new study.

The study, which was published in the National Library of Medicine, was funded by Lululemon Athletica and conducted by the University of British Columbia. During their research, they examined the breathing patterns of nine top runners.

While on the treadmill, the runners wore custom sports bras that could be adjusted to different levels of tightness. The bras were designed for people with chest sizes ranging from 30 to 34 and cup sizes B or C. During the study, runners engaged in different treadmill exercises, during which they adjusted the tightness of their sports bras differently for each session.

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Women run.

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The study — which focused on compression around the ribcage only — found that women who wore a too-tight sports bra inhaled less and had a higher breath-per-minute rate, noting that “respiratory function may be compromised by the pressure exerted by the lower girdle.”

However, those who wore a less restrictive sports bra “resulted in reduced work of breathing” and improved running economy by reducing submaximal oxygen uptake.

“People ask, ‘What sports bra should I wear?’ I say, ‘Wear the one that fits properly,'” said Shalaya Kipp, the study’s lead author who is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The Washington Post. “That’s probably the biggest thing that would help.”

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I sell sports bras in the store.

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Specifically, the study found that wearing a looser bra had a 1.3% improvement rate for a person’s running economy. Kipp told the outlet that a 2% increase in running economy would help a three-hour marathoner improve his time by three minutes.

“It was pretty invasive,” said Kipp, who also competed in the 2012 Olympics and participated in the study. “It’s the most difficult experimental protocol I’ve ever had someone do.”

“Decreasing lung function makes breathing difficult, which is especially critical during exercise or daily physical activity,” she added, the agency reports.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education