{"id":4929,"date":"2025-09-04T09:28:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T09:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=4929"},"modified":"2025-09-10T21:34:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T21:34:25","slug":"this-is-what-you-see-the-moment-you-die-according-to-scientists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/04\/this-is-what-you-see-the-moment-you-die-according-to-scientists\/","title":{"rendered":"This is what you see the moment you die, according to scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Have you ever wondered what you see when you die? (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Death<\/a> happens to us all, so it’s only natural to want to know what you experience the moment your heart stops beating.<\/p>\n

Will you see a bright light or dead loved ones? Will you be confronted with everything you wish you’d done differently? Is peaceful or scary? <\/p>\n

There’s a saying that your life flashes before your eyes, it’s a phenomena dubbed ‘life recall’. <\/p>\n

You’ll often hear people who’ve had a brush with death<\/a> say their whole life replayed in their mind \u2014 and it turns out, scientists have proved something like this could very well happen when you die.<\/p>\n

Neuroscientists have actually recorded the brain activity of someone as they died, and found that their brain waves at the time of death were similar to those that happen when we dream<\/a>, recall memories and meditate.<\/p>\n

Is it just us, or is that oddly comforting? If we’ve peaked your morbid curiosity, then read on to learn more about what happens when you die.<\/p>\n

How does life recall work?<\/h2>\n

The study, published in the Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience<\/a> in 2023, found that our brain could remain active and coordinated during and even after the ‘transition to death’, responding to the change with a ‘programmed’ ending.<\/p>\n

This finding came after an 87-year-old patient developed epilepsy<\/a> and an EEG was being used to detect the seizures so they could treat the patient.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Doctor\t<\/div>
How an EEG maps your brain activity (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While they were recording the brain activity, the patient had a heart attack<\/a> and died, meaning the activity of a dying brain was recorded for the first time ever.<\/p>\n

Dr Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, US, who led the study, explained to Frontiers they investigated the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating and saw neurological differences.<\/p>\n

‘We saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta oscillations,’ he said.<\/p>\n

Oscillations is a fancy term for brain waves and all the aforementioned types of brain waves, bar delta, are associated with dreaming, memories and information processing – which amount to flashbacks.<\/p>\n

Delta brain waves are associated with deep sleep are certain states of consciousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences<\/a>,\u201d Dr Zemmar speculated. <\/p>\n

‘These findings challenge our understanding of when exactly life ends and generate important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.’<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Young\t<\/div>
Our brains could replay our favourite memories for us when we die (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s important to remember though, that this study only had a single patient who had also suffered seizures and swelling but Zemmar is hopeful that this knowledge comforts those who have lost or are losing loved ones.<\/p>\n

‘Although our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the nicest moments they experienced in their lives,’ he said.<\/p>\n

Visioning<\/h2>\n

But it’s not just at the point of death that we see things, we also experience visioning as part of the dying process.<\/p>\n

It’s one of the six deathbed phenomena<\/a> described by hospice nurse Julie McFadden, 41, who’s based in LA and spends her time administering palliative care.<\/p>\n

\u2018Visioning is wild,\u2019 Julie says. It’s not about hallucinations and psychosis, or seeing things due to mental illness. \u2018It happens to many people, it\u2019s always comforting and the person is almost always alert and oriented,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n

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@hospicenursejulie<\/a> <\/p>\n

Chapter 6 in my book: Nothing to Fear- covers all the phenomena. Which one should I talk about next? #hospicenursejulie<\/a> #caregiversoftiktok<\/a> #medicaltiktok<\/a> #hospicenurse<\/a> #nothingtofear<\/a> #phenomenon<\/a> #deathbed<\/a> #marksloan<\/a> #greysanatomy<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c original sound – \ud83d\udc95 Hospice nurse Julie \ud83d\udc95<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u2018People always say \u201coh it\u2019s the medication or the lack of oxygen\u201d or \u201cthey\u2019re just confused\u201d, but\u2026 most people who have visioning are none of those things.<\/p>\n

\u2018It usually happens a few weeks before death, they can be up and having a normal conversation with their family and saying they\u2019re seeing their dead father in the corner who is smiling and telling them he\u2019s coming to get them soon and not to worry.\u2019<\/p>\n

The best thing to do as a family member witnessing your loved one experiencing visioning is to \u2018just go with it\u2019, according to the nurse.<\/p>\n

She says that people typically experience visioning about a month away from death.<\/p>\n

The death reach<\/h2>\n

Sometimes visioning goes hand-in-hand with what is called \u2018the death reach\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is when a person is lying in bed and they reach up in the air, almost like they\u2019re seeing someone or reaching for someone to hug them or to shake their hand,\u2019 Julie explains.<\/p>\n

This can be for a prolonged period of time too. Again healthcare professionals don\u2019t necessarily know why this is happening but it\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n

While nothing is fully understood yet, it’s clear that our brains work in mysterious ways when our time comes to pass on. At least now, you have a little bit of an idea as to what you can expect.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWhat happens to your body after you die, according to an embalmer\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Lianna Champ, 59, the UK\u2019s first female undertaker and embalmer, has made dead bodies her life ever since seeing her first one at the age of 15. We enlisted her to walk us through everything that happens, between the time of death and the funeral.<\/p>\n

\u2018Once the heart stops beating the energy of the body stops,\u2019 she tells Metro<\/strong>. \u2018It\u2019s our energy and blood flow that keeps us warm, so the body will start to cool and it\u2019ll go through a period of processes and changes, which is what we know as decomposition.<\/p>\n

\u2018Rigor mortis sets in a few hours after death. It\u2019s a chemical reaction that is caused by a lack of oxygen and biochemical changes in the body after someone has died. This causes the muscles to stiffen and contract.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lianna says that people mistakenly believe that if you attempt to move limbs or fingers during rigor mortis you will break the bones, but this is not true.<\/p>\n

She says: \u2018If somebody\u2019s hand went stiff and you were to gently bend their fingers you would be breaking down the rigor mortis because it doesn\u2019t last, it breaks down itself naturally after about 48 hours.\u2019<\/p>\n

Want to learn more about the embalming process? Read here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

This article was first published on June 15, 2025.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n


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