Prevalence of near-death experiences in people with and without REM sleep intrusion.
PeerJ – January 01, 2019
Source: PubMed
Summary
Nearly 10% of participants reported near-death experiences, with 106 out of 1,034 individuals validating their experiences using the Greyson Near-Death Experiences Scale. Remarkably, 47% of those with near-death experiences also experienced REM sleep intrusion, compared to only 26% among those with lower GNDES scores and 14% in those without such experiences. This suggests that individuals with REM intrusion are nearly three times more likely to report near-death experiences, highlighting a potential link between consciousness states following brain injury or cardiac arrest.
Abstract
The origin and prevalence of near-death experiences are unknown. A recent study suggested a link with REM sleep intrusion but was criticized for its selection of control participants. We therefore assessed the association of REM intrusion and near-death experiences with different methods. Using a crowd-sourcing platform, we recruited 1,034 lay people from 35 countries to investigate the prevalence of near-death experiences and self-reported REM sleep intrusion. Reports were validated using the Greyson Near-Death Experiences Scale (GNDES) with ≥7 points as cut-off for near-death experiences. Near-death experiences were reported by 106 of 1,034 participants (10%; 95% CI [8.5-12%]). Evidence of REM intrusion was more common in people with near-death experiences (n = 50∕106; 47%) than in people with experiences with 6 points or less on the GNDES (n = 47∕183; 26%) or in those without such experiences (n = 107∕744; 14%; p = < 0.0001). Following multivariate regression analysis to adjust for age, gender, place of residence, employment and perceived danger, this association remained highly significant; people with REM intrusion were more likely to exhibit near-death experiences than those without (OR 2.85; 95% CI [1.68-4.88]; p = 0.0001). Using a crowd-sourcing approach, we found a prevalence of near-death experiences of 10%. While age, gender, place of residence, employment status and perceived threat do not seem to influence the prevalence of near-death experiences, we confirmed a possible association with REM sleep intrusion.