Science Says Most Near Death Experiences Have This Feature In Common
A large number of people have reported experiencing a phenomenon that has been dubbed a 'near death experience,' and a new study recently published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience detail which features they have in common. These experiencers, as they're called, typically report 'extremely rich and detailed narratives,' the study explains, ones that feature 'a set of distinguishable features.' Some of those features, it turns out, are surprising consistent across experience reports.
The study sought to determine what features near death experiences (NDE) have in common, both overall and in terms of where these experiences fall during the process — that is, the temporality sequence. To help shed light on the matter, researchers evaluated NDE reports using text analysis to find out what features they have in common, as well as in what order these features tend to manifest.
The results are split into two categories: the features that NDEs have in common, and the order in which these features happen. Speaking about the latter category, the study found that 'temporality sequences can vary across NDErs.' That is, two people may experience the same phenomenon, but Person #1 may experience feature A first where as Person #2 may experience feature B first.
However, many features themselves are reported across many of the experiences, and most of them are ones you've probably already heard of: people report seeing a bright light, they report feeling sensations of incredible peace, experiencing or seeing a tunnel of some sort, and having an out-of-body experience where they seemingly leave their physical body.
The study notes that these NDE features aren't anything new — you can find details of these same experiences from reports dating back hundreds and thousands of years. As well, some of these experiences have also been regularly reported by individuals experiencing physical or emotional trauma, such as having an out-of-body experience during a moment of intense fear or pain.
Interestingly enough, individuals who experience but survive cardiac arrest are more likely to report having experienced an NDE versus other instances of near-death. The reason for that isn't clear. Despite the long history of NDE reports, few studies have looked into the commonality between experiencers, and particularly absent has been a look into the order in which these features manifest.
The researchers found that out of all of the experiences, and regardless of which order the features took place, the overwhelmingly common trait of NDEs is a feeling of intense peacefulness — a total of 80% of the experiencers reported experiencing peace during their near death experience.
The second most common trait was seeing a bright light, something experienced by 69% of the experiencers. And third after that was coming into contact with beings described as being either humans or spirits — a total of 64% of reports had this feature. Contrasting that were the least reported NDE features, which were 'precognitive visions' and faster thoughts.
Not surprising, in terms of the sequence of things, most narratives started with the experiencer reporting leaving their body and ending with the person returning to their body. The most common order of experience was as follows:
1) Leaving the body
2) Feeling peacefulness
3) Seeing a bright light
4) Encountering other beings
5) Nearing what was perceived to be a 'point of no return'
6) Returning to the body instead of passing beyond that point
Out of the 154 narratives analyzed, 47 of them included reports of both having an out-of-body experience and of encountering beings — of those, a grand 91-percent experienced the sequence listed above. The number drops slightly to 85% when looking at reports that instead included seeing a bright light and encountering beings, dropping again to 77% when replacing 'bright light' with 'feeling peace.'
In 22% of the narratives, experiencers reported all of the above, but with the absence of encountering beings, and with the peacefulness happening at the end of the sequence. The researchers wrap up their study with the following conclusion:
The present study highlights the recurrent sequences of NDE features reported in narratives and shows that NDEs' features do not appear in a strict temporal order, but rather in a variable (i.e., differ across NDErs) one. In our opinion, the presented data emphasizes and grants the uniqueness of NDErs' experiences. We think that NDEs, as a complex set of phenomena, remain of considerable interest to neurosciences for the current understanding of consciousness.
SOURCE: Frontiers of Human Neuroscience