How many times you have come across survivors who tell describe their “near death experiences”(NDE)? Now scientists believe that they have decoded the secret behind these experiences.
Rather than a religious experience, as many believe, researchers think that the phenomenon could be a simple trick of the mind caused by a chemical reaction in the body, reports telegraph.co.uk.
The study has found that the people with high levels of carbon dioxide in their bloodstream were more likely to experience the visions.
Many people who have had the experience say that they saw bright lights, a tunnel, or even deceased loved ones beckoning them.
Zalika Klemenc-Ketis, from the University of Maribor, in Slovenia, who led the study said: “Several theories explaining the mechanisms of near death experiences exist. We found that in those patients who experienced the phenomenon, blood carbon dioxide levels were significantly higher than in those who did not.”
Previous research suggests that very high levels of the gas can trigger hallucinations in some people.
Explaining this Ketis added that the our study adds new and important information to the field of near death experience phenomena.
“The association with carbon dioxide has never been reported before and deserves further study,” said Ketis.
The study looked at 52 patients who had suffered a potentially fatal cardiac arrest, in which the heart stops contracting properly. Of these, 11 reported having a near-death experience at the same time.
“Near-death experiences are a rather unknown but quite common experience in many cardiac arrest patients after successful resuscitation,” elaborated Ketis.
“One definition describes NDE’s as deep psychological experiences with feelings of t mystical encounter that typically occur in persons close to death or in situations of intense physical or emotional danger,” she added.
