Terminal Lucidity

Written by Pooja Gopinathrao

What is Terminal Lucidity?

If you’ve ever seen death or lost anyone, you might have shaken hands with terminal lucidity. You probably just didn’t know! Terminal Lucidity is very bittersweet and may cause anxiety (this is a disclaimer before you read this). Terminal lucidity is a sudden surge of energy in people nearing death. It is very common in people who are losing their battle against dementia, brain abscesses, tumors, strokes, meningitis, and Alzheimer's disease. When you approach death, your body slows down and gets weak, your organs fail, and your brain grows weak, unresponsive, and can even be unconscious. You ultimately feel a full sense of dread and lose your ability to communicate and remember. Terminal lucidity is a sudden stage in patients nearing the end with energy. They suddenly gain consciousness and energy. They start talking, communicating, singing, and reciprocating back to their “actual/happy selves” for a very minimal period. This usually occurs right before passing. Terminal lucidity can occur a few hours to 9 days before their last breath.

Signs of Terminal Lucidity:

When someone experiences terminal lucidity, the person may be able to recognize people around them, remember who or where they are, ask for their favorite food, speak in full, clear sentences, stand up and walk or move around, engage in activities with their families and friends like singing. Many patients talk about their happiest moments and memories or ask of and for their best friends or parents. 

During this stage, they might completely leave the hospital as well. The main idea is in this stage, patients try their best, feel happy, and engage with the people they love. For example, they take their children to the playgrounds, take a drive to their childhood homes/schools, tell stories to their grandkids, visit their favorite restaurants, and spend more valuable time with their families. Some, especially with medical backgrounds may know what this is and just say it, to put it in the air and live every second of it. Some who are healthy or understand or have accepted death may just know what is about to happen and say things like, “I’ll be leaving soon, I love you,” or, “I’ll find you in Heaven, I promise,” and so on. 

This is a personal experience, but my friend's grandfather loved astronomy and knew what was coming. His last night he asked to step out and stargaze with us. At that time I never knew what he meant, I just believed he was getting better. This was his first time getting out of bed in a long time. We went on a nice long walk and he told us stories. Before we went to bed, he told us he’d be in the stars. I didn’t understand till a few years later. That was his last night, but he left making every single person he loved happy. 

Terminal lucidity is called “end-of-life rallying” because these episodes happen shortly before someone’s death. Those who are religious believe that this is a creator’s gift before death. Some who believe in the afterlife say, “this is like the person has one leg on Earth and one leg In Heaven, just not in both fully, not yet.” 

Causes of Terminal Lucidity?

There is no explanation for terminal lucidity. It is important to clarify that it is believed that consciousness is produced by the brain. If this were true, how would it be possible for weak brains to produce normal consciousness? However, terminal lucidity contradicts this. It shows consciousness in a whole different perspective, because, how can people who are almost brain-dead become fully conscious again? How do people in such weak conditions gain all that energy? Like they just recover in a few seconds? These questions remain unanswered for now. Terminal lucidity suggests that human consciousness may have a more complex system than we suspect.

Now this is when philosophy, religion, and science mix. Through a philosophical approach, it can be suggested as panspiritism. This suggests that consciousness exists beyond the human brain, as a universal quality. That all in the universe might have spirit. Religion crossovers in examples like Hinduism. Hindus believe that there is this one soul, one spirit that connects and exists in all living beings, regardless of shape and species. If we use this approach, it could be suggested that the brain’s role is to transmit this universal consciousness into our internal consciousness.

In other words, there is no complete explanation for the conscious experiences of dying people. There isn’t enough research or findings to support any type of solid reasoning yet. All we can do is make the best of these last few moments we receive.

What do we Know? Theories?

In both the human and animal studies, the subjects’ brains result in a spike in activity after the reduction of oxygen supply. It is widely observed that our brains start to activate this homeostatic mechanism as we die. They do this to get oxygen back. Many neurologists hypothesize that the surge of energy might be a result of the brain attempting to reestablish homeostasis after detecting a lack of oxygen. Jimo Borjigin, a neurologist, observed that the gamma waves increase to an intense level as patients die (in the brain region).

Making the Most of Terminal Lucidity

Terminal lucidity is an emotional experience. There is no way to predict when and how long it might last. It leaves a happy ending and it's just the circle of life. All of us, no matter how smart or clever we are, will face the same end. It’s best to accept it and appreciate the beauty and value of life and the process of death.

References

Kinard, J. (2024, February 20). Why dying people often experience a burst of lucidity. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-dying-people-often-experience-a-burst-of-lucidity/

Lockett, E. (2023, September 13). Terminal lucidity: What we know and what we’re learning. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/alzheimers-dementia/terminal-lucidity#preparation

Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). The enigma of Terminal Lucidity. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-of-the-darkness/202406/terminal-lucidity

Written by Pooja Gopinathrao from MEDILOQUY