What is my best bet for reading in bed without back/neck/shoulder pain?

April 19, 2024 8:25 AM

I love to start the day by reading in bed and end it by watching something in bed. My neck and back don't enjoy it. Right now, I sit propped up with a husband pillow, but this seems to round my neck and spine and cause pain. I don't know how to read ergonomically at all, because looking down is apparently bad and I'd be exhausted if I tried to hold a book or tablet at eye level!

Options I'm considering:
- A projector aimed at the ceiling so I can lie on my back (but this precludes snacks/drinks...)
- Prism glasses so I can lie on my back and read (same problem as above, though)
- Some kind of real backrest that turns my bed into a couch? Then I'd need some kind of stand to hold my book/tablet

I'd like to spend as little as possible on this - I'll spend as much as I have to because health is a priority expense, but I don't actually have that much to work with.

Additional question: what is the best reading posture when using transit, waiting in public, or some other kind of non-ideal setup when I don't have a stand or even a seat with a back handy?

posted by wheatlets to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Sit up, put a fat pillow in your lap, prop your arms on the pillow. Much closer to eye level and reduces arm fatigue.
posted by epj at 8:36 AM on April 19 [4 favorites]

I just checked and my go to while seated is to prop my elbow on my thigh and hold up whatever I'm reading close to eye level. I adopted this habit after being told just how bad my cervical vertebrae looked in my mid twenties (along with a laptop riser) and it's done wonders for neck stiffness. The other way is to make the reading object far enough that you don't have to bend your neck to see it - just over my actual knees usually does it.

Never had that problem in bed because bed is for lying down and side sleeping in my case - book/phone/tablet happily on its side as well, head propped on a firm enough side sleeping pillow.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 8:39 AM on April 19

I got an adjustable tablet-clamp thing that has a long arm that i clamp to the bedside table, positioned to hold the Kindle, facing down towards the bed, where i lay in the usual position. No neck strain.
posted by jerome powell buys his sweatbands in bulk only at 9:00 AM on April 19 [8 favorites]

After a hospital stay and rehab for my wife, I had to find a wedge pillow so she could sleep at a 30 angle. Amazon didn’t have the wedge that I wanted, so I bought this adjustable pillow set instead. And I’m happy they didn’t have what I wanted.

She used it everywhere, sleeping, sitting up in bed, on the sofa. Now I use it to sit up and read in our tiny camper. If you start to get tired, you can make a simple adjustment. The magic is in the rubber surfaces between the adjustable bits. It just stays put. There are smaller wedges that you can add where you need extra support.
posted by jimfl at 9:41 AM on April 19 [4 favorites]

Prism glasses, snack separately, me.
posted by clew at 11:04 AM on April 19

I have two long bolster style pillows and about five regular bed pillows. I arrange as many as needed behind me to get comfortable, and then put one on my lap, on which I set my laptop if I'm using it, or my book if I'm reading it. Even if I'm holding the book upright, having the pillow to rest my arms and wrists on, and to prop the bottom of the book on, makes it much easier, and I find having a pile of pillows of various thicknesses and squishability lets me set myself up comfortably in a way that made-for-the-purpose pillows don't, since they never seem to be quite right for me.

They make pillows designed for holding a book, such as this one, and you'll find more if you google reading pillows, if something like that would be more up your alley.
posted by Well I never at 11:04 AM on April 19 [1 favorite]

I might be a weirdo, but my most comfortable bed-reading position has always been lying down on my side. Head on pillow book resting on its side next to me, thumb holding it open. And half the pages you barely even need that.
posted by Lorc at 11:13 AM on April 19 [3 favorites]

Not sure this will work for you, but I also have back issues and I put one standard pillow behind the small of my back (sometimes supplemented by a heating pad) and another behind my shoulders. I generally put the book in my lap, but I sometimes put another pillow in my lap and put the book on top of it when one of my shoulders is bugging me, putting my knees up to angle it and get it closer to my face.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:18 AM on April 19 [1 favorite]

Goose-neck tablet holder clamped to the bed frame, for when I'm lying on my back. Plus, I've practised a way to hold my Kindle with my thumb and the vee of my middle and ring fingers, freeing my first finger to move through pages.
posted by k3ninho at 11:28 AM on April 19

Along with the goose-neck Kindle stand other MeFites have recommended, some people also use a Kindle remote control page turner.
posted by elphaba at 11:52 AM on April 19 [3 favorites]

If you decide to spend big bucks, I can vouch that the Levo Book Holder solves a lot of reading posture problems, not just in bed.

https://levostore.com/products/levo-book-holder-floor-stand
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 8:19 PM on April 19 [2 favorites]