Dying patients often report vivid dreams, visions, or sudden lucid episodes even as their clinical and mental condition declines. A review of 20 studies found that end-of-life dreams and visions occur in cognitively intact patients, are vividly recalled, frequently involve deceased loved ones, and provide meaning, comfort, and acceptance, suggesting ongoing psychological and spiritual activity. Terminal lucidity, though rarer, involves a sudden return of clarity and communication in severely cognitively impaired individuals, challenging the idea that consciousness depends solely on brain function. These experiences point to a possible dissociation between mind and brain during dying.
End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) are common and meaningful for people nearing death, but this study found no difference in self-transcendence between hospice patients who experienced ELDVs and those who did not. Seventy-two hospice patients (35 with ELDVs and 37 without) completed the Self-Transcendence Scale. No significant differences emerged between groups (p = 0.310). Patients with ELDVs did not report greater self-transcendence than nondreaming patients, and no individual survey items differed. The authors suggest self-transcendence may be a natural developmental stage, closely tied to religiosity and end of life, or that holistic hospice care itself may influence self-transcendence, obscuring any effect of ELDVs.