The phenomenology of near-death experiences

People who report near-death experiences often have had prior experiences suggesting transcendence of death, more so than control populations, but prior experiences suggesting extrasensory phenomena are less common. After such an experience, changes in attitudes are more common than in people who have had other psychic experiences. Cultural and psychological factors, sensory deprivation, and reflex adaptive responses to stress explain some but not all features of near-death experiences. Their potential value to understanding dying, suicide prevention, and care of the terminally ill justifies further investigation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The authors studied retrospectively 78 reports of "near-death experiences using subjects narratives and questionnaires, interviews, and medical records. Prior experiences suggestive of transcendence of death were more common among these subjects than among control populations, but prior experiences suggestive of extrasensory phenomena were less common. Subsequent changes in attitudes were more common than among subjects in other studies who had had psychic experiences. The influence of cultural and psychological factors, sensory deprivation, and reflex adaptive responses to stress explain some but not all of the features of near-death experiences. Their potential value to our conceptualization of dying and to suicide prevention and the care of the terminally ill justifies further investigation.