Observing myself

I always advice students to sight-read music a notch below their level. During my readings about this subject, I have bumped into this same advice several times. I however, realized that I am resisting or ignoring this important detail. Aside form the hymns, I have been trying to challenge myself with difficult pieces. Today, I spend a couple if hours sight reading lower level pieces. It was very rewarding and I had the chance to observe my reactions in a more efficient way.
Here are the results:
- I was able to look ahead (some) and use my "buffers" (this was very exciting)
- I could perceive notes and patterns from my parafoveal area (outside the fovea) as if I could GUESS the notes.
- I can read the bass clef much better then the treble
- I read polyphony easier then homophony
- When I play the hymns, I use my keyboard so I can turn the sound of and this works very well. On the other hand, without picking at the keyboard at all (although I rarely do it) things get very complicated. The visual sense is vital while the auditory sense is not a necessity while I sight-read.