Scientists Explain Near-Death Experiences

Guess there’s no tunnel then? Scientists said on Monday that common near-death experiences such as having your life flash before your eyes, seeing bright white lights, and feeling out-of-body sensations are the result of a surge of electrical impulses to the brain, causing heightened consciousness. The study was carried out on rats, but researchers believe that there are similar processes in the human brain. In the 30 seconds after the animal’s heart stopped beating, there was a sharp increase in high-frequency brainwaves. “A lot of people thought that the brain after clinical death was inactive or hypoactive … if anything, it is much more active during the dying process than even the waking state,” said Dr. Jimo Borjigin, the lead author of the University of Michigan study.