What do we see when we die? New research reveals details of near-death experience

Research has shown that about 20 percent of people who survive CPR after cardiac arrest have conscious near-death experiences while apparently unconscious and literally on the verge of death.

The study included 567 men and women who were resuscitated by CPR or CPR between May 2017 and March 2020 in the United States and the United Kingdom and had their heartbeats stopped while in hospital. The study was conducted in a total of 25 hospitals and 126 survivors.

Deepest memories can be reached at the time of death

Study participants and survivors reported having unique conscious experiences, including observing events without pain or distress. They also reported that they performed many acts of evaluation or reflection during this near-death experience, including their actions, intentions, and thoughts toward others. The researchers found that these death experiences were completely different from hallucinations, dreams, delusions, illusions, or CPR-induced consciousness.

The study also included tests for latent brain activity, and subjects observed spikes in brain activity, including gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves. These brain waves are normally expressed as higher mental functions that occur when people are conscious, think, revive memories or perceive something new.

“These remembered experiences and brain wave changes may be the first signs of a so-called near-death experience, and we have captured them for the first time in a large study,” says Sam Parnia, PhD, lead investigator of the study. It provides evidence that they have had a unique inner conscious experience, including

Higher consciousness is attained, but the reason remains a mystery.

The research suggests that the self and consciousness of people who have died medically, like other biological bodily functions, may not completely stop at the time of death. Saying, “These completely clear experiences cannot be considered as a trick of a dying brain,” Parnia expresses it as an experience similar to the memories and new thoughts/memories that one sees on the brink of death.

As the brain stops working, it begins to turn off natural braking systems. This is similar to the decrease or loss of control exercised by the cerebral cortex, also known as disinhibition, at high alcohol intake. In other words, doing things you wouldn’t normally remember or do. Thus, at the time of death, access is given to the depths of a person’s consciousness, including such stored memories, thoughts from early childhood to death, and other aspects of reality. As a result, it is stated that people reach a high level of consciousness at the time of death, but the researchers cannot answer the question of why this happens or how it benefits the evolutionary process.