# dying in sleep



## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

This is a morbid topic. I was curious as to how exactly a person passes away in a natural death as opposed to from a heart attack, heart failure, stroke etc. (where you have a cause and a logical sequence of events). 
Google search gave this..

*http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4745341.stm*

_"Scientists believe they may have solved the mystery of why some people stop breathing fatally in their sleep.

They say a cumulative loss of cells in the area of the brain that controls breathing is to blame - triggering a condition called central sleep apnoea. However, they believe many such deaths in elderly people are misdiagnosed as heart failure.

The study, by the University of California, Los Angeles, is published in Nature Neuroscience.

They had also identified a small group of cells within this area as being responsible for issuing the commands...."
_
Thought it was interesting.


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## jon 29 uk (Sep 14, 2011)

yes , it was interesting . it is morbid . but something that you kinda want to know too.


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## Dannie (Feb 21, 2012)

Oh wow. That is morbid 
It's so weird how the human body works


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

I read another theory that said most people who die in their sleep possibly actually die in the process of waking, as it the process involves extra stress on the heart and raises blood pressure. Kind of an discomforting thought, the idea of waking up in the morning confused and in pain/discomfort, and then dying.


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## laura024 (Aug 11, 2006)

lonelyjew said:


> I read another theory that said most people who die in their sleep possibly actually die in the process of waking, as it the process involves extra stress on the heart and raises blood pressure. Kind of an discomforting thought, the idea of waking up in the morning confused and in pain/discomfort, and then dying.


If that theory is correct, maybe dying in my sleep doesn't sound so great after all.


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## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

Is there any struggle involved during this process? People often describe finding their elderly relatives (who passed away in sleep) with a calm expression on their face, in the same position they fell asleep in, suggesting a painless process.

However, during natural sleep (the REM phase only), the body is paralyzed. Have you experienced sleep paralysis? Those times when your mind is awake, but your body isn't. Taking this into account, you wouldn't expect any physical signs of mental distress in a person who dies during sleep but is unable to rouse themselves awake.

Does this make sense?

Mods: if this is an inappropriate topic for this board, please let me know.


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## forbidden (Oct 25, 2011)

Interesting...although any form of death sounds uncomfortable...and probably is...  sad times for all of us


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## Addler (Apr 28, 2011)

I think about death a lot, and what it feels like. I've been worrying (of course) obsessively about it for years, and this thread is doing the same thing. But I read this yesterday, and the excerpt from Montaigne is really nice: he was almost killed in a riding accident, and even he thought he was dead, but he said the experience was actually pleasant. I can only hope it's the same for us.

http://thefloatinglibrary.com/2009/03/05/on-natural-death-lewis-thomas/


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