In the cinema, the last words of a dying person are often heavy with meaning, loaded with love, heroism or shattering revelations. Faced with death, the main character suddenly finds the strength to pronounce a sentence full of wisdom, a philosophical revelation that will change the lives of those who remain. The reality is somewhat different. The actual last words are generally disjointed, stammered well before the last breath. However, according to several researchers, the same patterns and the same words are frequently found throughout the world, indicates the American magazine Popular Mechanics.
When the body shuts down, it does so in stages. Our system gradually slows down and the nervous and muscular capacities – allowing, among other things, speech – disappear. Many then plunge into a state of confusion called “delirium”, marked by a loss of bearings and altered consciousness. The exchanges then take place through gestures: a shake of the hand, a look. “The final conversation is not always about words”recalls Maureen Keely, professor at Texas State University and specialist in end-of-life communication.
But among people who can still speak, certain phrases seem recurring. Brooke Nutting, end-of-life carer, remembers patients who seemed to be speaking to invisible presences. Some whisper: “It’s a pleasure to meet you”as if they were welcoming someone who had just entered the room. Others, on the contrary, let out curses or desperately call their mothers. These scenes, documented in several studies, haunt those who witness them.
Research published in 2019 in the journal Palliative Medicine estimates that nearly 88% of palliative care patients experience an episode of delirium before dying. But this is not the only altered state of consciousness observed in the last days of life. Some people also experience what caregivers call “terminal lucidity”: a brief return of mental clarity before death, sometimes described as a final spark.
“I consider this lucidity as a gift, which not everyone receiveswrites Brooke Nutting in an email to Popular Mechanics. Sometimes patients suddenly find great clarity of mind. They recognize their loved ones, have real conversations, or make a last video call to those who are far away.
Better understand human consciousness
Why does such a moment occur in some people and not others? “It’s part of the great mystery of death”admits Brooke Nutting. Science puts forward some hypotheses. Some neurologists mention a lack of oxygen: a brain deprived of oxygen could experience unprecedented bursts of activity. A study published in 2023 in the journal PNAS observed a dramatic increase in gamma waves – those associated with complex thinking – in people having a near-death experience.
Exploring these experiences could help us deepen our understanding of consciousness, and even what extends it beyond the last breath. The idea that it persists briefly after death has always fascinated, and modern tools are beginning to trace its neurological contours.
The fact remains that each end of life is unique. According to Maureen Keely, the value of the last words lies mainly in their context. “What seems incomprehensible to a caregiver can have deep meaning for a loved one”she emphasizes. Phrases spoken on the border of life and death do not necessarily have a universal meaning, they belong to those who hear them. (“Rosebud”) “There are real conversations happening at this timeadds Maureen Keely. And it’s up to the person who receives them to decide whether they are profound or not.”
