Trauma or transcendence? The relationship between near-death experiences and dreaming

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are exceptional states of consciousness reported by many individuals who come close to death. Unusual dream phenomena such as more intense and vivid dreams, higher dream recall, and increased lucid dreaming have been purported to occur after NDEs, however, a comprehensi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Dreaming (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2024-08
Main Authors: Lindsay, Nicole, Tassell-Matamua, Natasha, O'Sullivan, Laura, Gibson, Rosemary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Death and Dying
Dream Content
Female
Human
Lucid Dreaming
Male
Near Death Experiences
Precognition
Sleep
Survivors
Trauma
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Summary:Near-death experiences (NDEs) are exceptional states of consciousness reported by many individuals who come close to death. Unusual dream phenomena such as more intense and vivid dreams, higher dream recall, and increased lucid dreaming have been purported to occur after NDEs, however, a comprehensive assessment of the dream experiences and attitudes of NDE survivors remains unexplored. Moreover, it remains unknown whether anomalous dream experiences stem from the actual NDE or the traumatic experience of coming close to death. In this study, 138 NDE survivors, 45 participants who experienced a life-threatening event but without NDE, and 129 participants who had never come close to death completed a quantitative questionnaire assessing trauma symptoms and a range of dream-related variables. The NDE group reported significantly more lucid dreams, creative and problem-solving dreams, precognitive dreams, and out-of-body experiences during sleep than both other groups of participants. Furthermore, these experiences appeared to be primarily related to the NDE rather than trauma symptomology. Findings continue to suggest a relationship between nonordinary states and expanded awareness more broadly—whether experienced during sleep or wakefulness—offering further insights into the phenomenon of consciousness in general. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
ISSN:1053-0797
1573-3351
DOI:10.1037/drm0000278