Near-Death Experiences
Overview
A near-death experience usually occurs in the wake of a traumatic physical event or a reversible clinical death, such as when someone is revived after a cardiac arrest. While the experience varies, NDEs commonly feature a feeling of detachment from the body, visions of bright lights, a warped sense of time, or feelings of peace.
Records of NDEs date back to the ancient Greeks and are found across cultures worldwide. The first known clinical observation was recorded in 18th-century France. In the 1970s, psychiatrist Raymond Moody pioneered the academic study of NDEs as medical events after an acquaintance relayed his own near-death experience.
Some estimates suggest 5% of people have had NDEs, and research published in 2017 indicates they commonly include reports of peacefulness (80%), bright lights (69%), and encounters with other people or spirits (64%). Scientists seeking to explain NDEs have been investigating them by studying the electrical brain activity of people experiencing them, collecting thousands of anecdotal accounts, and drawing upon psychedelic research to search for clues about human consciousness across NDEs and psychedelic use episodes.
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