I’m 45 as well. I’ve read aloud to my daughter regularly for the last 9 years. I started reading novels to her 5ish years ago. It was a challenge at first to say every word and not to skim the text. I’m able to put myself into “read aloud mode” now (without actually speaking) and it helps me with dense text. I’m probably subvocalizing when I read this way, and it’s definitely slower than my “normal” reading, but I get more out of text. (I’ve gotten more out of novels that I read when I was younger just reading them aloud to her. It was kind of shocking to read mindfully and see what I was missing.)