'I died for eleven and a half minutes': New study looks at near-death experiences

Study looks at impact of near-death experiences A London paramedic is helping out a Western University study by sharing his near-death story. CTV's Celine Zadorsky has more.

London, Ont. — Paramedic Adam Tapp had a near-death experience when he got electrocuted during a wood working project.

“At some point in time when I was being electrocuted I went into cardiac arrest and I literally died and I was dead for eleven and a half minutes.”

During that eleven and a half minute time frame Tapp says he actually vividly remembers his near-death experience.

“It was just like waking from a nap in a place I have always been and there was no fear or anything just complete contentment and happiness.”

Tapp’s positive outlook following his near-death experience is similar to what a recent study has shown, a study that examined around 160 patients who have had near-death experiences.

“Some of them, they went through comas and some of them have had near death experiences like a cardiac arrest but without a coma,” says Dr. Andrea Soddu, a member of Western University’s Brain and Mind Institute.

By using artificial intelligence, the research team used a process called text mining, which examined similarities in essays written by those who have had near-death experiences

“Then you look for words that are more significant in the texts and so one simple thing is to see frequency in the words. Words like light and fear and consciousness,” says Soddu.

The conclusion was that for the most part people respond positively to near-death experiences.

“The sense of fear and sense of death is still there in the report but it’s less dominant and more far away,” adds Suddo.

The next steps in this study now will be to look at biomarkers in the brain to see if there are any neurological changes following a near-death experiences.