A recent scientific study has provided evidence for a phenomenon long speculated about—what happens in the brain just before death.

People who have survived near-death experiences, where their bodies technically die but they are revived by medical professionals, often report a range of strange and profound experiences. These can include vivid hallucinations like seeing devils sing Rihanna in hell or feeling as if they are leaving their bodies and ascending to heaven.

However, gathering reliable data about the moments after death has always been a challenge. Keeping someone attached to machines until their final breath isn't exactly ethical or humane.

One long-held belief about what happens in our final moments has now been validated through a significant discovery. The phenomenon commonly referred to as "life flashing before your eyes" was previously thought to be just a theory, but recent findings suggest there may be more truth to it than once believed.

The Popular Theory: Life Flashing Before Your Eyes

The idea that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die is a well-known concept. It is believed that, in the final moments, a person’s most significant memories—or perhaps their entire life—replays in their mind.

Philosophers like Plato discussed this concept thousands of years ago, describing warriors who had out-of-body experiences after "returning from death."

This idea has been popularized in many aspects of culture, including in songs, movies, and poems.

For years, this phenomenon was only a medical theory, but a recent study provided evidence supporting its existence.

A Scientific Breakthrough: Brain Activity Before Death

A breakthrough study published in February 2022 in Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience has provided new insights. The study involved an 87-year-old patient with epilepsy who was undergoing electroencephalography (EEG) scans to monitor for seizures. The research was led by Raul Vicente of the University of Tartu in Estonia, with a team of 13 neuroscientists.

Unfortunately, the patient died unexpectedly while the EEG scan was being conducted.

Despite the man suffering a heart attack in front of medical professionals, his do-not-resuscitate status allowed researchers to continue monitoring his brain activity for 30 seconds before and after his heart stopped.

The EEG scan showed an oscillatory brain wave pattern, with an increase in gamma waves—suggesting potential memory recall—and a decrease in the brain’s alpha, beta, and theta waves. These patterns are similar to those seen in dreaming and meditation.

Researchers’ Findings and Observations

“This is why it’s so rare because you can’t plan this,” said Ajmal Zemmar, one of the study's co-authors, speaking to Insider. “No healthy person is going to undergo an EEG before they die, and no sick patient’s death is predictable enough to record these signals.”

The study's findings lend some credibility to the accounts of those who have described near-death experiences, seeing their lives flash before their eyes or experiencing hallucinations.

Zemmar added, “It’s hard to draw conclusions from just one case, especially one with bleeding, seizures, and swelling. But what we can claim is that we observed signals before and after death that resemble those seen in healthy humans when they dream, meditate, or recall memories.”

Additional Evidence About the Afterlife

A separate study from March 2019 delved deeper into near-death experiences (NDEs), comparing accounts across different cultures. It found that NDEs share striking similarities across diverse populations, suggesting there may be a neurological basis for these experiences. The study also explored whether substances like the hallucinogen DMT or ketamine, often linked to altered states of consciousness, might influence these perceptions. Interestingly, users of these substances reported experiences similar to those described by individuals who had NDEs.

Previous research has focused on the spiritual aspects of NDEs, examining what survivors report about their experiences before death. Yet, there still isn’t a clear explanation for the brief burst of brain activity that occurs before death, despite the recent findings.

Though we still lack a full understanding, it’s possible that this phenomenon is one last gift from life—a vivid, joyful memory to help us as we near the end. Hopefully, with further research, we’ll be able to uncover more about what the brain experiences in those final moments.