The Link Between Sleep and Death - OBE's, NDE's, and Sleep Paralysis
Name of Review Item:
Out-of-body Experiences May Be Caused By Arousal System Disturbances In Brain
Media Type:
Paper
Publisher and Copyright Date:
Neurology Journal, March 6, 2007
Name of Reviewer:
Michael C. Willis
Date of Review:
09/20/2019
Stars:
3
This scientific study contducted by the University of Kentucky examines a link between out-of-body experiences (OBE's), the sleep-wake transition, and near-death experiences (NDE's). A group of 55 people who had had near-death experiences were asked if they had ever had an OBE in their lifetime prior to the NDE. The researchers found that those who answered yes to this question were found to be more likely to experience something similar during the near-death experience.
For context and convenience, here are links to the definitions of terms used often in this article:
The study also maintains that some people have brains that are chemically predisposed to out-of-body experiences. One of the doctors who led the study, Dr. Kevin Nelson, said that it was the brain's "arousal system" which regulates the spectrum of states of consciousness between REM to wakefulness that "may be the cause for these types of out-of-body displays". And it is this "arousal system" that the team of researchers suspect may have something to do with a person's predisposition to having OBE's during death and sleep-waking transitions. (This article was written in 2007, and since then, science has more accurately answered the question of what the brain's "arousal system" is. For many years it was thought that the system was comprised of several parts of the brain that worked togheter, but it was unknown which parts or how they accomplished this. According to a separate study published in June of 2018, scientists have been able to manipulate neurons located in the thalamus of rodents by a process called optogenetics in order to induce sleep and to wake them up. See https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322118.php)
Statistically, the study found that people are just as likely to have an OBE during the transition between sleep and wakefulness as they are during near-death experiences.
To add to the mystery, Dr Nelson also says, "The strong association of sleep paralysis with out-of-body experiences in the near death experience subject is curious and unexplained."
Now, to anyone who has experienced sleep paralysis (or researched it) knows that sleep paralysis can be a very scary thing! While I myself have not experienced it, I have read enough to understand why it can be such a harrowing thing. Sleep paralysis is when, during the transition between sleep and waking (or vice-versa), a person finds that although they are aware and conscious of their surroundings, they cannot speak or move their physical body. When this occurs, many people report that although it can be disconcerting to not be able to move or speak, the condition usually passes within a few seconds. At the same time, many people report strange and often frightening experiences during these episodes, including the feeling of electricity shooting through their bodies, or being able to see or sense that other people or entities are in the same room. And many times these 'others' are not exactly friendly or kind...
What I would like to do now is to take the scientific conclusions of the study and talk about them from my perspective, keeping the knowledge of the subtle world and subtle bodies in mind. My purpose is not to negate the science - on the contrary, I would like to show how science is knocking on the door of the subtle world and encourage its continued advance toward this realization.
"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause."
Must give us pause."
--Shakespeare
From antiquity to the present, sleep has always been likened to death. Anyone who has kept vigil at a dying person's bedside can attest to the similarity between watching someone fall asleep and watching someone pass on. I myself have seen a dear family member pass on after a stay in hospice. The way the body relaxes slightly at the moment of death is very similar to when someone falls asleep. The physical body's inertness during both sleep and death...it is a universal human experience that these two states are very much alike to an observing eye.
To me, with the understanding of the subtle body, it is easy to come to the logical conclusion that, in both cases, we are witnessing the subtle body's exit from the physical body. This would support the finding in the study that "an out-of-body experience is statistically as likely to occur during a near death experience as it is to occur during the transition between wakefulness and sleep". With this in mind, I'm going to take another step.
For most of us, the transition between wakefulness and sleep is a smooth one. We typically have no recollection of it happening, whether it's wakefulness-to-sleep or sleep-to-wakefulness. But those who have experienced sleep paralysis know that the transition is not always easy and forgettable. To me, what they are experiencing is the separation or coming together between the subtle and physical bodies. I can't be sure what exactly causes the transition to not be as smooth as it is 'normally', but it may have something to do with the thalamus as described in the above study which backs the idea of "out-of-body experiences as an expression of arousal (neurons in the thalamus) in near death experiences". If this is correct, why would the thalamus work this way in some people and not others?
Two quotes from the study:
Dr Nelson also says, "The strong association of sleep paralysis with out-of-body experiences in the near death experience subject is curious and unexplained."
and,
"We found it surprising that out-of-body experience with sleep transition seemed very much like out-of-body experience during near death," Nelson said
and,
"We found it surprising that out-of-body experience with sleep transition seemed very much like out-of-body experience during near death," Nelson said
What if scientists took a good long look at the possibility of the existence of the subtle world, subtle bodies, and how we interact with them? In a bright, new future, dots that currently remain unconnected would be thus connected, and mankind would be able to unlock amazing and vast new areas of science and medicine, along with a more real, more true understanding of who and what we really are. I would sincerely love to see what Dr Nelson and his team of researchers could discover using the knowledge of what we cannot see with all of their incredible knowledge of what we can see.
Isaac Newton was once curious about a force he could not see, but he could see the effects of it. He looked until he found gravity, and all our lives have been drastically changed for the better for it. What the world needs now is a new Pioneer who seeks to understand subtle things in the same way.