The dying dream of the dead to be at peace with life
Many people have vivid dreams shortly before death. Research suggests the dreams are not a sign of confusion — but may help both the dying
Many people have vivid dreams shortly before death. Research suggests the dreams are not a sign of confusion — but may help both the dying and their loved ones make sense of loss. Florence sits at the kitchen table. Her husband is there, her daughter, too. They laugh together, share a meal — just as they used to. But there is one difference: both her husband and daughter have been dead for years. "As if we have never been separated," she says. Florence has never experienced dreams with such intensity before. She feels no fear — instead, a deep sense of calm, a certainty that she will see her loved ones again. Five days later, Florence dies. This was no ordinary dream, but an encounter. Many people have reported similar experiences in the final days of their lives. Known as End‑of‑Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs), they often occur as dreams during sleep, and sometimes as visions while a person is awake. For those experiencing them, they can feel more vivid and real than ordinary dreams — and for those observing them from the outside, it can be unsettling. Medicine long dismissed ELDVs as episodes of sudden confusion (delirium) or as side-effects of medication. But today, the thinking is shifting. 9 out of 10 people report End-of-Life Dreams and Visions Christopher Kerr, a neurobiologist, palliative care physician and hospice doctor in the US, has been studying dreams and visions at the end of life since the late 1990s. The ELDV stories described in this article, such as Florence's, are drawn from Kerr's documented case reports in palliative care research.
Over a period of roughly 10 years, Kerr and his team interviewed more than 1,400 hospice patients up until their death — provided they were cognitively intact and not experiencing delirium. They found that about 90% of the patients reported at least one such dream or vision. Kerr does not describe these people as confused — quite the opposite. "These are clearly patients with heightened acuity and heightened awareness," he told DW. Psychologist Elisa Rabitti, lead author of an Italian study on ELDVs, emphasized a similar point in an email to DW: "End‑of‑Life Dreams typically occur in patients who are able to recount them with a coherent narrative, while maintaining preserved attention and awareness." ELDV recurring themes: Journeys, reunions, belonging The dreams are vivid and meaningful. Many involve encounters with deceased loved ones and pets, who appear to return to offer comfort. They often revolve around journeys, preparation, and a sense of going somewhere. Relationships are revisited, conflicts addressed, guilt and regret surface. "As they get closer to dying, there's an increased frequency. They become progressively more likely to include the deceased," said Kerr. Time and distance seem to lose their meaning. Whether someone is religious appears to make little difference. According to Kerr, both religious and non‑religious individuals report ELDV experiences. What matters instead are these universal themes of love, connection and forgiveness — but not belief systems. ELDVs are also distinct from near‑death experiences. Near‑death experiences tend to occur suddenly in acute, life‑threatening situations. End‑of‑life dreams, by contrast, develop gradually over days or weeks and are closely tied to a person’s life story.
The BriefWire