Table 5. Selected reports from participants with an experience that reached the threshold of ≥7 points on the Greyson NDE scale to qualify as a near-death experience.
Note that the last two comments describe instances that are highly suggestive of REM sleep disturbance, including visual hypnogogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis, rather than the near-death experience both participants reported to have had. Comments are edited for clarity and spelling.
| • I was at the beach in Florida, I was 10–11. Suddenly, huge waves started pulling me further and further from the shore. As I was fighting, my life started flashing before me in my head. [ …] I felt like my soul was being pulled out of my body. I was floating and was [lifted in the air]. After a few moments I felt like I was in an enormous tunnel of darkness, and at its end there was the brightest white light I have ever seen. I remember that my dead relatives were at the gate, including my maternal grandmother. I don’t remember what we talked about. But then I felt that I was sucked out of the tunnel and I fell, crashing into my body again. Male, 28 years; near-drowning; Greyson NDE Scale score 10; fulfilling 3 of 4 criteria for REM sleep intrusion |
| • I encountered a truly out-of-body experience where my eyesight and visual became incredibly abstract. For around an hour I had no sense of self or my surroundings. When my self-awareness returned, I became concerned that I was indeed dying or had died. I eventually became completely lucid, and still to this day I do not understand this experience. Male, 46 years; drug intoxication; Greyson NDE scale 8; REM 3/4 |
| • I was very young when I almost drowned. I saw angels, and they were singing the most beautiful music I have ever heard. I was very upset when I was revived. Female, 57 years; near-drowning; Greyson NDE scale 15; REM 1/4 |
| • During my first cardiorespiratory arrest I was aware of being outside my body. My partner saw me at the window, calling for help, but at this point I was not breathing. Female, 35 years; critical illness/cardiac attack; Greyson NDE scale 25; REM 3/4 |
| • I felt like I just died, and I went to heaven. I heard voices, and I was sure I would not come back to my life. It was weird. I could not control my body. Female, 37 years; childbirth; Greyson NDE scale 11; REM 3/4 |
| • It was a very pleasant experience: Intense white light, feelings of overwhelming love. I had a sense of not having done all the things I was meant to do. I heard a nurse repeatedly calling my name and telling me to breathe. I eventually took a breath. It was a very positive experience and has affected my whole life since in a very positive way. Female, 59 years; childbirth complication; Greyson NDE scale 15; REM 2/4 |
| • I nearly drowned when I was around 8 years old. I felt total peace. Twenty years later I can still remember how I felt. It was an amazing feeling. Female, 32 years; near-drowning; Greyson NDE scale 7; REM 2/4 |
| • I often see characters in my hallway or feel someone else’s presence before going to sleep. Male, 32 years; near-drowning; Greyson NDE scale 11, REM 4/4 |
| • Sometimes I wake at night, and I can’t move. I see strange things, like spirits or demons at my door, and after a while I see them coming beside me. I can’t move or talk, and they sit on my chest. It scares the hell out of me! I think that it is a dream, count to 3 and close my eyes. Sometimes this helps. Female, 28 years; physical violence; NDE 20; REM 4/4 |