The one thing we all have in common is death. It's inevitable, and yet it's under-studied and often overlooked by many in the scientific community, even though it's the crux (or the bane, depending on who you ask) of existence.A staggering number of people have reported Near Death Experiences (NDEs) after certain criteria were met. This includes, but is not limited to, seeing a bright light, feeling disassociated from one's body, and feeling a sense of overwhelming peace. In fact, according to research, studies show that one in ten people report having had a NDE.More and more researchers are taking notice and using these self-described NDEs as roadmaps for their empirical studies of what physically happens in the brain as we're dying . Lord Byron on his death-bed commons.wikimedia.org Death and dying are a fascinating, perplexing puzzle for doctors and researchers. In 2024 article for The Guardian titled, "The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense,’" author Alex Blasdel discusses the focused curiosity Jimo Borjigin, Ph.D., a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, has on the topic. "She had read about the near-death experiences of certain cardiac-arrest survivors who had undergone extraordinary psychic journeys before being resuscitated. Sometimes, these people reported travelling outside of their bodies towards overwhelming sources of light where they were greeted by dead relatives. Others spoke of coming to a new understanding of their lives, or encountering beings of profound goodness."The thing of it is, one doesn't have to have a belief in a "higher" power to experience these events. A self-described atheist has given many talks and interviews about her experience. A self described atheist shares her NDE experience www.youtube.com, Coming Home Channel Borjigin was a skeptic but began to investigate. In a 2023 piece for Michigan Medicine, lead research editor Kelly Malcolm writes that Borjigin led the study for The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. She and her team found two patients who "upon removal of ventilator support, showed an increase in heart rate along with a surge of gamma wave activity, considered the fastest brain activity and associated with consciousness." - YouTube www.youtube.com Altered states, indeed. To get more specific, when one of the patients (referred to as Patient One) was taken off life support, something extraordinary happened. Blasdel reports, "In the moments after Patient One was taken off oxygen, there was a surge of activity in her dying brain. Areas that had been nearly silent while she was on life support suddenly thrummed with high-frequency electrical signals called gamma waves. In particular, the parts of the brain that scientists consider a 'hot zone' for consciousness became dramatically alive."It gets even more fascinating. Blasdel continues, "For about two minutes after her (Patient One's) oxygen was cut off, there was an intense synchronisation of her brain waves, a state associated with many cognitive functions, including heightened attention and memory. The synchronisation dampened for about 18 seconds, then intensified again for more than four minutes. It faded for a minute, then came back for a third time."In other words, the patient's life may have flashed before their eyes, as the cliché goes. Unfortunately, Patient One didn't recover, but based on the brain waves, it's likely they experienced a cacophony of neurotransmitters exploding into light, guiding them through tunnels of memories. Maybe?Upworthy spoke with Dr. Elreacy Dock, DBH, D.Th., Certified Grief Educator, and Adjunct Professor of Thanatology. She shares that NDEs have actually been reported in about 17 percent of patients, with a notable amount coming from cardiac arrest survivors. The why of it is much more tricky. "Theories as to why they may occur, which range from the possibility of cerebral anoxia and a significant release of neurotransmitters to other alternatives such as having consciousness independent of the brain." A plastic model of a brain. Photo by Lisa Yount on Unsplash Furthermore, there are probably a lot more that aren't even talked about than we even know. "It has been argued that NDEs are far more prevalent than documented and that some remain unreported because people have difficulty recalling NDEs due to trauma, heavy sedation or medication use, and impaired memory," Dock concludes.Dock reiterates that, "Some researchers believe that these waves may reflect a 'life recall' process that is similar to what some individuals have mentioned encountering in near-death experiences (e.g., a life review). Studies have also shown that when near-death experiencers have recalled their memories of these experiences, these were associated with delta and theta brain waves. These are generally attributed to trance states, episodic memory, and recollection of past events, which makes these NDE memories distinguishable as actual experiences rather than imagined experiences."The idea being that the patient who can recall their NDE isn't making it up. Their brain waves prove that their experience, no matter what it's attributed to, was very real to them and not a fictionalized part of their imagination.She also notes, as have many researchers, that while these NDEs are often reported as positive, that's not always the case. "It is not uncommon for individuals to report negative experiences, some of which have also been said to influence an increase in suicidal ideation among those who have made previous attempts." The trailer for the docuseries "Surviving Death." www.youtube.com, Netflix This is discussed at length in Netflix's docuseries Surviving Death, which ran the gamut of emotions from those who experienced NDEs and lived to tell about them. Some saw it as a spiritual awakening, while others were merely baffled by how odd the experience was. Many had beautiful sensations to report, while others felt darkness and fear. Much like life itself, our experience with death sounds pretty personalized.As Blasdel writes, "Death may be far more alive than we ever thought possible."

My youngest daughter just recently started taking karate at a local dojo. One interesting thing about the classes is that kids come twice per week, but they're free to come to any session throughout the week. Depending on which nights we go, we see a lot of the same kids, but it's always a slightly different blend of folks depending on everyone's schedules.What stuck out to me was that by the second training session, the instructors knew my daughter's name perfectly. She didn't need to be signed in, didn't wear a name tag, they just knew who she was, just as they knew the names of the six to ten other kids in her class. They also knew the names of every person in the advanced group of about 20 people that waits patiently off to the side while the youngins finish their practice.I can barely remember the names of a few of my kids' friends, so I was immediately in awe of this skill—not to mention, jealous.Teachers meet dozens or even hundreds of new students every year and are expected to have all of their names memorized within the first few days of school. How do they do it? Don't be like the famous Key and Peele substitute teacher sketch. Giphy It's not unlike the karate instructors at my kids' dojo, who interact with a constantly-rotating cast of different children, teens, and even adults. How do they manage to keep all the names straight? Never mind remembering specific details about each person like their strengths, weakness, personalities, and interests—how do they consistently place the right name to a face?To answer this, here's what real teachers are saying.One thread on Reddit is full of tips and tricks from veteran teachers.One user, an English teacher, recommended raising the stakes by setting a penalty for yourself if you don't learn the names: "I have 100 students and I told them that if I didn’t know their first and last names by the third day of school I’d bake them cookies. I made them sit in the same seat every single day. I’ve done that for five years and have never failed. It’s the idea of baking that many cookies that drives me!"Another swears by good, old-fashioned repetition: "I make sure to use their names as often as possible during BOY. 'Yes, Sara.' 'Thank you, Sara.' 'Good point, Sara' the repetition helps me."One teacher tracks their progress in learning the names visually: "I designate a white board to 'names' and every student in every class makes a postit with his/her name on it. For the first days of school, kids get the post-it off the board and put it on the fronts of their desks so I can see their names. The other benefit is that it helps me take attendance the first week or so. After a couple of weeks I start to remove post-its for the kids whose names I know - so then there's maybe 5 per class with the post-its and then I learn those and then mission accomplished!"Another says they try to peg some kind of personal detail to a student's name to make it stickier in their memory: "I do my best to know something unique and identifiable about each kid, not a physical feature, just a personality or background detail that makes them easier to call to mind. Working with middle school kids, this relationship building aspect is absolutely crucial."Marieum, who works as a substitute teacher, doesn't have the luxury of slowly learning kids' names throughout the course of several days or weeks. She has a few special tricks of her own up her sleeve."When I take attendance... I tell my students, 'Teach me your name', instead of 'Tell me your name.' That way they can tell me of any nicknames, any kind of pronunciation." That helps make the interactions more memorable and personal. She also says she tries not to fault herself for forgetting a name. After all, she's only human. "Don't be shy to ask... 'Hey, remind me your name.'" @marieum.ahmad Names are meant to be learned! Put in your best effort and that’s all that matters! #substituteteacher #substituteteachertips #futureteacher #studentteachingessentials #teacherinspo #teacheroutfit #teacherlife #substituteteacherexperience #substitueteacherlife #earlyelementary #howtobecomeateacher #teachersoftiktok #teacherjourney #teacherintroduction Teacher Samantha Pasche sets aside five minutes per day the first few days of school to practice all of her students' names, then she actually quizzes herself on them and tracks her improvement.Her goal is to learn 100% of her student's names by the end of the third day. She'll even have her students switch desks multiple times that first week so that she can re-quiz herself based on the new arrangement–ensuring she's not just memorizing the order of the names, but actually learning the faces. What a dedicated educator!It's maybe not as applicable to us non-teachers, but imagine if you could get a roster of, say, your kid's classmates and their parents, or their teammates on the soccer team, or even everyone in a new friend group you've been spending time with. Could you quiz yourself for five minutes per day for three days and burn those names and faces into your memory forever? @samanthapasche Replying to @Ms Dienger Learning students’ names is so important! Here is what I do to learn them in 4 days! #teachersoftiktok #teachertok #middleschool #middleschoolteacher #firstweekofschool Tamara says she has about 170 new students every year and it takes about a month for her to learn their names. Even then, she misses a few and still makes lot of mistakes. But her advice is still spot on:"Just let them know that you love them, just be there for them. They're gonna love you. Don't be nervous."It's a good reminder that a lot of people are bad at names. If you're feeling anxious about not remembering someone's name, there's no guarantee that they remember yours either! Just be honest and kind to people and the names will come when they come. @teaching_mrsh Replying to @Mrs.Rhinoooo? Learning Student Names? I haven’t found a way to do it quickly, with 170 students it takes me, as a teacher, at least a month into the school year to have the majority memorized. Be patient with yourself. Study their photos if you can. And don’t be nervous. You’ve got this. Also since no one reads the caption, if you did - drop your favorite color in the comments. Mine is blue. #teachingmrsh #teacherlife #teachertips #teachingadvice How to learn student names Teacher advice for first week of school Teaching advice Teaching high school A lot of teachers on Reddit, TikTok, and other social media swear by the classics. The art and science of remembering people's names really boils down to a few things:The first is repetition. When you're first learning someone's name, the more you can use it while you interact with them, the quicker your brain will peg the name to their face. One teacher on TikTok says learning the correct spelling and pronunciation of names, then repeating them as often as possible, helps her learn over 150 new names every year.Next is either a visual or mnemonic device to help make a name catchier and stickier. One teacher on social media wrote she asks students to introduce themselves with an alliterative description, like Genius Jenny or Nice Nicole. Rhymes are great, too! Like Red Ted, if Ted has red hair, or memorable nicknames like Jake the Snake.One thing we can all learn from teachers is the time, care, and dedication they take to get to know their students. Many of them practice and study names, with correct spelling and punctuation, and realize the importance of that in building the relationship. All the tricks and memory games in the world won't help you if you don't make the effort to authentically connect with people, but a few ideas from the pros can really help.

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American Pilot says they were all mandated to take the COVID 19 vaccines and boosters and now pilots are failing their EKG heart tests with irregular rhythms ? Instead of being safe, The FAA CHANGED REGULATIONS allowing for the new irregular heart rhythms (INSANE) “So what the… pic.twitter.com/pthLCwgTTu — Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) September 6, […]

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