Science & Technology

Physicist to recreate NDEs in VR to help terminally ill patients

By T.K. Randall
February 27, 2025 ·  1 comment

Could simulating NDEs help dying people cope ? Image Credit: Pixabay / sciencefreak David Glowacki, a researcher with the Singular Research Center in Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS) at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, knows better than most what it feels like to have a near-death experience and how it can change a person's outlook on life and death.

In 2006, he suffered life-threatening injuries in a fall while hiking and while waiting for rescue recalled experiencing the sensation of his soul leaving his body - a common theme among near-death experiences.

Afterward, he found that he had been stripped of his fear of death and realized that if he could find a way to simulate near-death experiences in others, that he could impart the same psychological benefits onto them.

To this end, Glowacki is now spearheading a remarkable new project that will use virtual reality to enable those who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses to undergo their own (albeit simulated) near-death experiences.According to previous studies, there is evidence to suggest that those who do recall such experiences typically go on to enjoy a significant reduction in anxiety and stress levels.

This is perhaps because those people gain a renewed and even transcendental sense of peace and acceptance with regard to death and no longer fear what comes next when they die.

While some scientists have looked into the use of drugs to induce near-death experiences, Glowacki's research has indicated that virtual reality is the safest way to replicate the experience.

Exactly how effective this type of therapy will prove to be, however, remains to be seen.

Source: El Pais | Comments (1)

Tags: Near-Death Experiences