We’ve talked about what happens when you die, an episode that was very popular.
Now we tackle a similar question: what happens just before you die?
This question comes to us from Jody.
As you may already know, we love answering questions from you, our beloved viewers!
So, today, as per Jody’s request, we dare to venture deep into this subject in our quest
to find out if your life really does flash before your eyes in your final moment.
To begin with, we’ll start with what happens to you physically depending on how you die.
Let’s first talk about drowning.
This is a very uncomfortable death, characterized by an inability to breathe that leads to your
demise underwater.
What happens is that you struggle with your mouth below the surface.
You panic and might begin to aspirate or inhale water.
This leads to you having a laryngospasm, which happens when your vocal cords close and block
airways in an attempt to protect your lungs.
When this happens, you’re unable to scream for help.
Thus, drowning is mostly a silent death.
When not enough oxygen reaches the body’s tissues, you then go through something known
as hypoxia.
You become unconscious and your airway relaxes which allows your lungs to fill up with water.
Prolonged time without air can lead to cardiac arrest and brain damage before finally leading
to death.
This is not a good way to go so it is highly recommended that you wear a life vest if you
don’t know how to swim.
Either that or keep an inflatable pool toy under you.
The unicorn floaty is all the rage right now.
Get one with a cup holder while you’re at it so you can keep a martini on hand.
Death by hypothermia, where the core body temperature drops to a dangerous level, causes
you to shiver intensely.
After extended exposure to the freezing temperatures, your body functions start to slow down, including
your respiration, heart and metabolic rates.
You then lose consciousness before you die.
An example of this type of death would include what happened to Jack in the movie Titanic.
Spoiler alert, we saw him turn into a human popsicle before he sunk dramatically into
the dark depths of the Atlantic.
Rose let go of him in the moment after saying she wouldn’t.
What’s up with that?
We feel the need to add that Jack could have easily fit onto the door that was used as
a raft.
He just didn’t try hard enough.
At any rate, you definitely wouldn’t want to perish in icy cold waters this way.
It is not a fun way to go, especially if you hate the cold.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, death by burning has to be a very horrifying way
to meet your demise.
Sometimes, when people were burned at the stake back in the dark ages, they would die
from carbon monoxide poisoning before the flames completely consumed them.
This happens when you breathe in too much carbon.
It is definitely not a pleasant way to go.
In fact, it is excruciatingly painful!
Yet, carbon monoxide poisoning would have been considered a merciful death in comparison
to feeling the fire melt away your flesh.
The human body can burn for several hours but, if you’re lucky, you’re already dead
by the time the dermis cracks.
The dermis, in case you didn’t know, is the thick layer of skin under the epidermis,
which is the thin outer layer of your skin.
Sometimes burns can cause so much damage to your nerves that you are no longer able to
detect pain.
More than likely, however, you’re already dead before you can recognize that you don’t
feel pain anymore.
The initial agony of being burned alive can also be so intense that some people may die
of primary shock, when blood pressure drops so low that vital organs can no longer function.
Suffocation from the fumes and heatstroke can also result in death before the actual
flames do the job.
With heatstroke, your brain and other vital organs swell, which can be fatal if left untreated.
Now, that we’ve covered some of the extreme, horrific, morbid aspects of physical causes
of death and what happens to the body before dying, let’s explore what may happen mentally
before you die.
We mean, aside from the obvious panic you might experience if you are aware of what
is happening to you.
This is a big topic because there are a lot of strange and abnormal things people claim
to have happened in the moments just before death.
Neurologist, Dr. Cameron Shaw, believes he knows exactly what happens to us 30 seconds
before we meet the grim reaper.
He dissected a woman’s brain in order to find out what was going on immediately before
she died.
What he found was chilling.
First, he says, we lose our sense of self.
This is reportedly because the brain tends to die from the top down and blood supply
is gathered from underneath.
Thus, the prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for cognition, planning, personality, decision-making
and moderating social behavior loses blood first as the brain drains.
This implies that our sense of self, sense of humor and our ability to think ahead all
dissipates within the first 10 to 20 seconds out of the 30 second countdown to death.
Then, Dr. Shaw explains, “as the wave of blood-starved brain cells spread out, our
memories and language centers short out, until we’re left with just a core.”
By this point, you have no awareness of what is happening.
Not to be overly grim but you basically shut down, go blank, fall into the dark pit of
nothingness, whatever you prefer to call it.
Dr. Shaw says that you do see a white light at the end of a tunnel before you die but
not necessarily because you’re drifting into heaven.
We hate to break it to you, but Dr. Shaw says this happens when the sudden loss of blood
supply to the brain causes tunnel vision.
The first thing that is noticed is a feeling of being faint, as well as the narrowing of
your vision, which is followed by an ominous or peaceful darkness, depending on how you
perceive it.
But it all has to do with the loss of blood to your head.
Dr. Shaw also explains the concept of the “out-of-body” experience, which many people
have claimed to have been through during life-threatening, near death experiences.
This is said to happen when people perceive themselves to be floating through the air
like a spirit, ghost or apparition.
They see objects in another room or the tops of people’s heads from an aerial view.
Dr. Shaw says that this is just a trick of the mind, and that it is not real.
He claims that the out-of-body experience is little more than a myth.
He says, quote, “the brain can create a visual world around you that resembles something
close to reality that isn’t reality, because you’re actually blind.”
What we think he means by this is that you are blind to your surroundings while in this
state of mind because you are basically unconscious.
Some people who have experienced the out-of-body sensation, however, will continue to assert
that this was very real to them.
Many will jump to its defense.
Now what about the question regarding whether your life flashes before your eyes?
You may be interested to know that yes, indeed it does but not in the way you think.
What we mean to say is, you won’t visualize yourself as a baby and watch yourself grow
up.
It doesn’t happen chronologically like in the movies.
You’ll simply witness key memories randomly based on importance and which events sparked
the greatest emotion for you.
In the final moments, you will think about the most notable or prominent moments of your
life.
The most memorable aspects of your existence pop into your thoughts; Your first kiss, graduation,
holidays with your family, the day you got married to your spouse, the day your first
child was born, and more.
Some people who have experienced this near-death occurrence say that many memories were packed
into a short period of time.
Some have even gone so far to say that it felt like centuries had passed while they
were witnessing the memories of their lives play out by before them like a movie across
a screen.
One person claimed being able to actually feel what friends and family members felt
through each memory.
The same person was quoted in an article in The Sun saying, “I was allowed to see that
part of them and feel for myself what they felt.”
In essence, empathy for others was said to be directly experienced during this ordeal.
Perhaps this was to teach a life lesson about consideration for others?
Philosophically, we can only speculate.
Now, Dr. Cameron Shaw is not the first or the last professional to study what happens
before you die and, if you watched our video called, Did Scientists Really Find A Way to
Bring the Dead Back to Life?
Then you may have learned that a study on pig brains revealed that the organ can continue
to function cellularly after pronounced clinical death.
This means that it is theoretically possible to be partially dead or partially alive.
Creepy!
In all likelihood, however, you are not conscious enough to realize that you are somewhat dead.
For those who have ever been around someone with a terminal illness in their final moments
of life, often it is said that a loss of consciousness is the first physical change to occur.
Still, even while unconscious, the person might still be able to hear or feel you.
After consciousness goes, there may be changes to the skin where it becomes slightly blue
in color.
Breathing may become loud as mucus builds up in the throat.
As the end draws nearer, shallow breathing may stop and start again between breaths.
This is known as Cheyne Stokes breathing.
It can last for a short or long time before finally stopping entirely.
During the bodily transition to death, it is likely that you are not distressed or in
pain because you are not aware that you are dying.
For this reason, many believe the changeover is relatively peaceful because, as the common
saying goes, “ignorance is bliss.”
Some people choose when and where to die and are able to hang on a little longer until
a loved one arrives at their bedside.
Others may not be so lucky and may be unable to control when they go.
Many people often feel guilty for not being there at the precise moment when their loved
one passed.
They might feel like they let the person down by missing the crucial moment.
It might be of comfort to know that the person was probably not aware of your absence when
they passed.
Still, if friends and family members are distressed by the passing of their loved one, they are
usually referred to consult with a bereavement counselor who is trained in helping people
who are undergoing these exact situations.
Counselors can be very helpful and beneficial with assisting people through the difficult
grieving process.
Receiving bereavement support is important and we’d strongly recommend doing so if
you have just lost someone close to you.
Now, we realize that this episode discussed a very morbid topic.
To end on a lighter note, we recommend celebrating your existence and the fact that you are alive
today to watch this video by watching our other episode, What Happens When you are Born?
Your odds of existing are slim and if you want to know why, we’d suggest watching
it.
So, what interested you most about what happens before you die?
Did anything surprise you?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video What Happens When You Die?
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!