Near-death experience

A near-death experience (NDE) is a visionary experience, typically of a paranormal, spiritual or religious kind, sometimes reported by persons who have been revived after being pronounced clinically dead or who have been otherwise close to death. Some scientists consider such an experience to be hallucinatory; whilst others claim that such an explanation cannot adequately explain the phenomena.

The experience has been reported more frequently in recent times since the development of cardiac resuscitation techniques. Popular interest in near-death experiences was sparked by Raymond Moody Jr's 1975 book Life after Life and the founding of the International Association for Near-death Studies (IANDS) in 1978. According to a Gallup poll approximately eight million Americans claim to have had a near-death experience. NDEs are among the phenomena studied in the field of parapsychology, psychology, psychiatry and hospital medicine.