Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

Near-Death Experiences are intensely vivid and often life-transforming experiences, many of which occur under extreme physiological conditions such as trauma, ceasing of brain activity, deep general anesthesia or cardiac arrest in which no awareness or sensory experiences of any kind should be possible according to the prevailing views in neuroscience.     

View Dr. Bruce Greyson’s informative personal Website.

Dr. Bruce Greyson interviewing a near-death experiencer

A near-death experience, or NDE, is a common pattern of events that many people experience when they are experiencing intense threat, are seriously ill or come close to death.

Although NDEs vary from one person to another, they often include such features as the following:

• feeling very comfortable and free of pain
•  a sensation of leaving the body, sometimes being able to see the physical body while floating above it
•  the mind functioning more clearly and more rapidly than usual
• a sensation of being drawn into a tunnel or darkness
• a brilliant light, sometimes at the end of the tunnel
• a sense of overwhelming peace, well-being, or absolute, unconditional love
• a sense of having access to unlimited knowledge
• a “life review,” or recall of important events in the past
• a preview of future events yet to come
• encounters with deceased loved ones, or with other beings that may be identified as religious figures

While these features are commonly reported, many NDEs differ from this pattern and include other elements. For example, some near-death experiences may be frightening or distressing rather than peaceful. We are interested in hearing about all kinds of near-death and similar experiences, and in studying their effect on persons who have them.

Veridical NDEs

We are particularly interested in studying NDEs that may bear on the question of whether the mind can function outside the physical body, and on whether we may survive bodily death. One such type of experience is the so-called veridical NDE, in which experiencers acquire verifiable information that they could not have obtained by any normal means. For example, some experiencers report seeing events going on at some distant location, such as another room of the hospital; or an experiencer might meet a deceased loved one who then communicates verifiable information the experiencer had not known. Other kinds of NDEs that may bear on the mind/body question include those in which mental functioning seems to be enhanced despite physiological evidence that the brain is impaired.

The causes of NDEs are complex and not fully known. While many medical and psychological explanations have been offered, they remain speculative and often fall short of explaining the entire phenomenon.

Seeking Support About Your Own Near-death Experience?

If you have had an NDE and would like access to a support group of others who have had NDEs, please refer to the international list of support groups found on the website of the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS). 

1) Investigating physician barriers to acceptance of near-death experiences-IRB-SBS Protocol #5305

Call for research with physicians who have had a near-death experience.

Dr. Marieta Pehlivanova and Dr. Bruce Greyson are recruiting physicians who have had a near-death experience (NDE) for an online study.

The purpose of the study is to learn about physicians’ attitudes toward NDEs. These are personal and deeply transformative experiences that patients can experience when they are in a medical crisis or close to death. Patients sometimes report the feeling of leaving their bodies, going through a tunnel, strong positive emotions, and a sense of having a life review, among others. Because of the impact of NDEs on experiencers’ lives, patients sometimes talk about these experiences with their physicians. This research aims to improve these interactions. We are interested in your participation even if you have not had patients who have reported an NDE.

Participation in the study will take about 15 minutes of your time and will consist of an anonymous online questionnaire.

You are eligible to participate if you are 18 years of age or older, are a physician in any specialty, have had a near-death experience, and are fluent in English. This research project has been approved by the University of Virginia’s Institutional Review Board for the Social Sciences (protocol #5305).

If you complete the questionnaire, you have the option to enter a raffle to win one of several $100 Amazon gift cards.

If you are a physician who has had a near-death experience, are fluent in English, and you are interested in participating in this study, please contact the investigators at mp8ce@uvahealth.org and cbg4d@uvahealth.org  .

Thank you for your support of this research.

2) Near-Death Experiences, IRB-SBS Protocol #3365: Bruce Greyson and Marieta Pehlivanova are conducting ongoing research into NDEs.

If you are over age 18, currently healthy, and would like to share a near-death experience of any type with the researchers at the Division of Perceptual Studies, please share your experience via Contact Us.

3)  Near-Death Experiences: Comparing Two Scales of Near-Death Experience Features, IRB-SBS Protocol #4885

This study is closed to enrollment.

Dr. Bruce Greyson and Dr. Marieta Pehlivanova at the Division of Perceptual Studies (University of Virginia) are studying individuals who have had a near-death experience (NDE) via an online study. NDEs are personal and transformative experiences that sometimes happen when one is close to death or under the threat of death. Their research project is focused on the wording of questionnaires about NDEs and will allow researchers to improve these questionnaires to better reflect the experiences people have. The data has been gathered and data analysis is now underway at this point.