Abstract
Background: Near-death experiences have fascinated humans for centuries, but their origin and prevalence remain unknown. Methods: Using an online crowdsourcing platform, we recruited 1034 lay people from 35 countries to investigate the prevalence of near-death experiences and self-reported REM sleep intrusion. Reports were validated using the Greyson Near-Death Experiences Scale (GNDES) with a score of ≥7 as cut-off point for identifying near-death experiences. Results: Near-death experiences were reported by 106 of 1034 participants (10%; CI 95% 8.5-12%). REM sleep intrusion was more common in people with near-death experiences (n=50/106; 47%) than in people with experiences with 6 points or less on the GNDES (n=47/183; 26%) or in those without any such experience (n=107/744; 14%; p=<0.0001). Following multivariate regression analysis to adjust for age, gender, place of origin, employment status and perceived danger, this association remained highly significant; people with REM sleep intrusion were more likely to exhibit near-death experiences than those without REM sleep abnormalities (odds ratio 2.85; CI 95% 1.68-4.88; p=0.0001). Conclusions: The prevalence of near-death experiences in the public is around 10%. While age, gender, place of residence, employment status and perceived threat do not seem to influence the prevalence of near-death experiences, there is a significant association with REM sleep intrusion. This finding is in line with the view that despite imminent threat to life, brain physiology must be well-preserved to perceive these fascinating experiences and store them as long-term memories.
