Haunting movement that people make just before they die - and the fascinating reason behind it, nurse reveals
If your loved one on hospice suddenly appears to reach up to the sky or ceiling at the end of their life, you're not just imagining it.
For the 'unexplainable phenomenon' is 'really common' among people on the verge of death, experts have claimed.
Katie Duncan, from Gaithersburg in Maryland, said the upward movement will often catch relatives off guard but patients are in fact reaching towards dead relatives, friends or even a cherished pet.
While this can make it look like the dying person is in distress, she said it doesn't cause a patient to suffer.
The nurse practitioner and end-of-life coach has worked in intensive care, home hospices and community and rehab facilities, caring for terminally-ill patients in the months leading up to their death.
Now, she shares videos on social media on what she says she has learnt about death and dying, in the hopes of destigmatising it.
In the clip, seen more than five million times, she said: 'This is one of those unexplainable phenomenons. In my personal experience working with people who are dying, this reach towards someone or something above them is really common.
'Sometimes this is associated with what we call end of life visions or other end of life experiences.
'When someone vocalises seeing someone or something, often it's an angel, sometimes it's a bright light.
'Very commonly, they say it is a loved one or family member or pet, someone who has died before.
'The person who is dying is vocalising that they're seeing this person. But sometimes you see a person reach and they don't say anything at all.'
Clips of patients in their final moments have been widely shared on social media sites including TikTok and Instagram.
Responding to Ms Duncan's video, TikTok users spoke about their own experiences.
'My husband did this also he reached both arms out and said mom the biggest smile I ever seen him smile,' one wrote.
'My dad saw a little boy on a white horse the night before he passed,' another said.
In a separate Instagram reel seen over one million times, one woman also shared a video of her husband reaching up towards the ceiling as he drank water.
'I was so happy he was drinking I didn't even notice he was doing the before death reach to the sky,' she said.
It's unclear exactly what causes terminal lucidity.
However, one US study published in 2023 looking at brain activity during death suggested that dying brains are deprived of oxygen and may produce increased gamma wave activity.
Gamma waves are the fastest brain waves, which occur when patients are highly alert and actively processing sensory information.
Experts also believe the brain releases a flood of neurotransmitters like serotonin right before death, which could improve mood.
Ms Duncan also said: 'What should we be doing about this reach? Nothing. It's one of those mystical parts of the dying process that we are able to be a witness to.
'We also know that other end of life visions and experiences tend to bring the dying person a lot of peace and comfort.
'If you're a loved one who's witnessing this in your dying person, I hope that you can let it bring you comfort.'
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Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump cuts threaten safety training for America's most dangerous jobs
NEWBURYPORT, Massachusetts, May 31 (Reuters) - By the time Robbie Roberge spotted the fire consuming his boat's galley last August, he knew he had just minutes to evacuate his beloved Three Girls fishing vessel, named for his daughters. As the flames spread up the boat's walls, he helped his crew into safety suits, deployed a life raft and made a mayday call to alert nearby mariners and the U.S. Coast Guard that he was abandoning ship more than 100 miles offshore. Roberge, a commercial fisherman from South Portland, Maine, learned how to handle such an emergency just three months earlier at a workshop held by Fishing Partnership Support Services, a nonprofit that has trained thousands of East Coast fishermen in safety practices. On May 20, Roberge cut a fishing trip short to bring the six-man crew from his remaining boat, the Maria JoAnn, to another FPSS training in Newburyport, Massachusetts. "I have years of experience, but not dealing with emergencies," said Roberge, whose handling of the fire led to a successful rescue with no injuries. "I make it a point to be here." Such safety trainings - aimed at fishermen, loggers, farmers and other workers in America's most dangerous jobs - could be scaled back or wound down entirely as soon as July, according to Reuters interviews with a dozen health and safety experts and organizations, as a result of President Donald Trump's drive to slash the size and cost of the federal government. Those cuts have fallen heavily on the federal government's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that is a key funder of workplace safety training and research. 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Attendees cheered each others' efforts to light flares and use water pumps and traded stories of nightmarish near-misses on slippery decks or sinking boats. For Al Cottone, a fourth-generation fisherman in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and a FPSS instructor, cuts to the trainings would be "tragic." In the decade he has been involved with FPSS, Cottone said the number of attendees at an average training has doubled to 40 to 50 from 20 to 25. "There are so many people who are going to be left behind, because getting this in the private sector, this type of training, it costs a lot of money," he said.
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Forget fat jabs! The 6 simple ‘Nozempic' diet anchors that will make a big difference to your weight loss goals
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You can roast, boil, steam or grill veggies.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Viewers comment on Elon Musk's distracted appearance at White House after explosive report claimed he took ketamine, ecstasy and magic mushrooms on campaign trail
Elon Musk has been accused of acting 'weird' and 'strange' at his Oval Office farewell, which took place just hours after explosive claims the billionaire used a proliferation of drugs while on the campaign trail. The Tesla CEO stormed into politics as President Donald Trump 's chainsaw-brandishing sidekick tasked with slashing federal bureaucracy, but just five months into his government role Trump announced his work at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had come to an end. Musk, who also sported a mysterious black eye during the press conference on Friday, will now return to his multi-billion-dollar businesses '24/7', including Space X, Tesla and his goal of colonising Mars. He has however hinted he will still visit the White House and continue to be a 'friend and adviser' to the President. The conference took place shortly after an explosive New York Times report alleging he was using a cocktail of drugs on the campaign trail including ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. Musk, 53, has previously said he was prescribed ketamine for depression and was taking the drug roughly every two weeks. But insiders allege the entrepreneur was taking the powerful anesthetic, which is known to have hallucinogenic properties, so frequently that it was affecting his bladder, the bombshell report claims. He also travelled with a daily pill box that contained about 20 different drugs, including Adderall, sources allege. Those around him claim his consumption blurred the lines between medicinal and recreational, with Musk allegedly having taken drugs at private gathering across the US and in at least one foreign country, according to the NYT report which was based on a series of texts the outlet reviewed, as well as interviews with insiders. The alleged drug use coincides with a number of witnessed erratic behaviors, including making an apparent Nazi salute at Trump's election day event. Musk has claimed in interviews that he only takes 'a small amount' of ketamine and that 'I really don't like doing illegal drugs'. However during his media appearance on Friday, Musk can be seen standing behind Trump with his arms crossed, rolling his eyes and swinging his head from side to side. Eagle-eyed viewers were swift to comment on his unusual behaviour, with some suggesting he had consumed drugs prior to the press conference. One wrote: 'Elon Musk looking coked out of his mind in the White House today.' Another said: 'Why is Elon Musk behaving so weird? Is he always high?' A third user on Musk's social media platform X, wrote: 'Musk is the poster child for Trumps America. Drug addled, confused, incoherent, dishonest, and just plain strange.' His social media platform was also aflutter with comments around what may have caused his black eye, but Musk later explained he was bruised by his five-year-old son X. The pair, he said, were 'horsing around and I told him to punch me in the face.' 'It turns out a five-year-old can punch, actually. I didn't really feel much at the time,' he jested. Musk jokingly linked the black eye to shock video that emerged this week of French President Emmanuel Macron appearing to be slapped by his wife Brigitte, saying he 'wasn't anywhere near France.' In other allegations put forward by the New York Times, insiders said Musk would receive 'advance warning' of drug tests at his aerospace firm SpaceX. As a large government contractor, SpaceX requires its workforce to be drug free and randomly administers drug tests. It is unclear if Musk was forced to undergo drug testing by the White House, but Trump's top aide Stephen Miller told CNN on Friday 'I don't have any concerns' about the NYT's explosive report. When pressed about the issue, Miller said: 'The drugs that we're concerned about are the drugs running across the southern border.' In addition to his alleged drug habit, Musk's stint at DOGE was intertwined with private legal battles involving his ex-partners and children. Claire Boucher, known professionally as Grimes, is understood to be fighting with Musk over his public flaunting of their five-year-old son X, which she alleges violates the pair's custody agreement. He also was accused of fathering a secret 14th child with conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair. Musk has allegedly denied paternity of the child. Referring directly to allegations of drug use, Musk slammed the media reports and added people 'can't trust' the New York Times and that he would be 'moving on' from the controversy. Trump thanked Musk for his work at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as his five-month stint in office came to an end, and added that Musk would be 'going back and forth' between the White House and private life. The billionaire was handed a large key by Trump before vowing that DOGE's work slashing the federal government's spending would not end with him leaving. He likened his work slashing government spending to a personal form of Buddhism, describing it as a 'way of life' that he hopes permeates throughout the government. The remarks came after exclusively reported that discontent with Musk from some in Trump's orbit was escalated by an alleged violent outburst at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this year. Musk's role working for Trump was always intended to be a temporary stint, however his departure notably comes after he broke ranks with the White House and trashed its 'Big Beautiful Bill' earlier this week. He said he was 'disappointed' in the president for 'undermining' the work he did at DOGE, in a parting shot before saying he was returning to his multi-billion-dollar businesses '24/7.' Musk alluded to these complaints in his Friday meeting with Trump, saying his department became the 'DOGE boogeyman' and was unfairly blamed for controversies that weren't his fault. Many of the cuts made by DOGE have not been codified, but Trump said at the meeting on Friday he was 'totally committed to making the DOGE cuts permanent.' 'This is not the end of DOGE, this is really the beginning,' Musk added. 'The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. I'm confident over time we will see a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction. 'I think the DOGE team is doing an incredible job, they're going to continue doing an incredible job and I'll continue visiting here and being a friend and adviser to the president.' Musk was asked about the 'slings and arrows' he has faced since aligning himself with Trump, including firebombings of Tesla dealerships and boycotts of his companies, to which Musk sharply responded: 'Some in this room are slingers.' The billionaire was the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 election campaign and the pair bonded over conservative politics and a desire to root out what they believed was a wasteful 'deep state'. He quickly became Trump's so-called First Buddy and was constantly at his side. The tycoon appeared with his young son X on his shoulders during his first press conference in the Oval Office. He attended cabinet meetings. He and Trump rode on Air Force One and Marine One together and they watched UFC fights together. But the tech tycoon was frequently exhibiting wild behaviors. He brandished a chainsaw at a conservative event, boasting of how easy it was to save money, and separately made what appeared to be a Nazi salute. But Trump himself remained publicly loyal to the man he called a 'genius.' The president even turned the White House into a pop-up Tesla dealership after protesters targeted Musk's electric car business. Yet Musk struggled to get a grip on the realities of politics. He is understood to have insulted cabinet members during meetings and would routinely get into 'fights' with his opponents, according to the report. The impact on Musk's businesses also began to hit home with a series of Space X launches ended in fiery failures and Tesla shares dropping drastically. Musk started musing about stepping back earlier this year saying that, 'DOGE is a way of life, like Buddhism' that would carry on without him. He finally showed the first signs of distance from Trump himself this week, saying he was 'disappointed' in Trump's recent mega spending bill. Musk also said he would pull back from spending time on politics. The end came in a post by Musk on Wednesday on the X network, which he bought and then turned into a MAGA campaign platform. 'As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,' Musk tweeted. 'The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.'
