In an endless quest to understand what happens to a person after he dies, many are looking for eyewitnesses to clinical death. People who have had a connection with death often report seeing and experiencing life-changing events, being on the “other side,” contemplating a bright white light at the end of a long tunnel, or reuniting with departed relatives or loved pets. But despite the seemingly supernatural nature of these events, experts say science can explain why they happen.
What is a near-death experience?
A near-death experience is a deep psychological event with mystical elements. It usually occurs in people close to death or in situations of severe physical or emotional pain, but it can also occur after heart attacks or traumatic brain damage, or even during meditation or fainting (loss of consciousness due to a drop in blood pressure). The phenomenon is surprisingly common, and a third of people who were close to death reported experiencing the feeling to the fullest.
Common characteristics reported by eyewitnesses are feelings of satisfaction, psychic withdrawal from the body, rapid movement through a long dark tunnel, and exposure to bright light.
Culture and age can also influence hallucinations. For example, many Indians report meeting the Hindu king of the deceased, while Americans often claim to have met Jesus. Children usually describe meeting with deceased friends and teachers.
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Effects
Most of the reported cases of clinical death are positive for the psyche. This event has helped many to reduce anxiety from thoughts of death, improve their lives and improve well-being. However, some death experiences are negative and include feelings such as lack of control, awareness of nothingness, broadcasting hellish images, or imposing judgment from a higher being.
Why is this happening?
Neuroscientists Olaf Blanke and Sebastian Diguez have proposed two types of near-death experiences. The first type, associated with the left hemisphere of the brain, is characterized by an altered sense of time and impressions of flight. The second type, which includes the right hemisphere, is characterized by the fact that a person sees something or communicates with spirits, hears voices, sounds and music. While it is not clear why there are different types of near-death experiences, different interactions between brain regions produce these different experiences.
The temporal lobe also plays an important role in clinical death. This area of the brain is associated with sensory processing and memory, so abnormal activity in these lobes can cause strange sensations and distorted perceptions.
Despite several theories used to explain the events of the near-death experience, it is difficult to get to the truth, to find out what exactly causes hallucinations.
Assumptions
Religious people believe that near-death experiences are evidence of life after death - in particular, the separation of spirit and body. The scientific explanation for the phenomenon also includes depersonalization, which is a feeling of separation from the physical body. Science author Carl Sagan has even suggested that the stress of death engenders birth memory, suggesting that tunnel people see a reimagining of the birth canal.
Chemical Theories
But due to the bizarre nature of these theories, other explanations have emerged. Some researchers have argued that endorphins released during stressful events can induce a kind of near-death experience, in particular by reducing pain and increasing pleasant sensations. Likewise, anesthetics such as ketamine can mimic the characteristics of a near-death state, for example, give the feeling of being outside the body.
Other theories suggest the near-death experience stems from dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a psychedelic drug that is naturally synthesized in some plants.
Rick Strassman, professor of psychiatry, observed in his study from 1990 to 1995 that people had near-death and mystical experiences after being injected with DMT. According to Strassmann, the body has natural DMT that is activated at birth and death. However, there is no conclusive evidence to support this view. In general, chemical theories are not accurate and cannot explain the full spectrum of near-death hallucinations that a person experiences.
Medical theories
Researchers also explain the near-death experience as a consequence of cerebral anoxia, a lack of oxygen in the brain. One scientist found aerial pilots who experienced unconsciousness during rapid acceleration, describing near-death-like characteristics such as tunnel vision. Lack of oxygen can also cause temporary bouts of hallucinations.
The dying brain hypothesis
But the most common explanation for near-death experiences is the dying brain hypothesis. This theory suggests that near-death experiences are hallucinations caused by activity in the brain as cells begin to die. Since it happens during times of crisis, it explains the stories of people who have experienced a similar story. The theory is highly controversial, although plausible. The main problem is that it cannot explain the full range of possibilities that can arise during dying hallucinations, for example, why people have the experience of being outside the physical body.
There is currently no definitive explanation as to why clinical death occurs. But ongoing research is still seeking to understand this mysterious phenomenon. Whether the paranormal occurs or not, the near-death experience is extremely important. It provides meaning, hope and purpose for many people, offering to appreciate the human desire to survive after death. This reboot gives people a new life, full of goals and aspirations.
Author: Olga Zatirakhina