One of life's nicest pleasures is to get lost in a good book. But it's hard to read well if you're not comfortable.
The Overhead in Bed reading experience averts the physical strain of reading. Add some earplugs [even low-decibel sound pressure invokes cortisol] to eliminate white noise, and comprehension skyrockets: the literature's full import rains down into your consciousness.
However minor and sufferable, straining one's hands, arms, shoulders, neck, and eyes to read is counterproductive. Trying to hold a book steady fatigues the effort. This physical stress is not consciously considered. It's sublimated, we're jaded to it, and though we don't realize it, the pleasure of reading is diminished.
The only exertion beneath OHIB is lifting the book to turn the page, and the only muscles involved in reading while looking up are the eyes.
“There were many ways in which one could read. Either tucked into the corner of the sofa with a strong cup of coffee or lying in bed with the book hovering above one's face – though admittedly this is not done without peril.” ~ Madeline Martin, ‘Librarian Spy’. Editor’s note: Oh, yes it is, Madeline, yes it is.