Table of ContentsView AllTable of Contents40 to 90 Days Before1 to 2 Weeks BeforeDays to Hours BeforeCoping With Loss
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
40 to 90 Days Before
1 to 2 Weeks Before
Days to Hours Before
Coping With Loss
The dying process usually beginswell before death takes place. Generally, there areend-of-lifestages that follow a general timeline during the last 40 days or so. For some people, it may take weeks. In other cases, death approaches more quickly, in just a few hours or days.
Knowing more about the end-of-life process may help you to better prepare for what’s to come. It also can benefit your loved one if you can anticipate and identify the physical, mental, and emotional changes they experience as death approaches. A healthcare provider may be able to give you a sense of your loved one’s expected timeline as the stages progress.
The Early Stages: 40 to 90 Days Before
The dying process often comes into view about 40 to 90 days before death. Experiences that take place at this first, more visible end-of-life stage are broadly common but the specifics can differ for each individual.
Physical Changes
As the body starts to slow down, a dying person may have the following physical signs:
As the body slows down to prepare for death, the metabolism slows down and requires less food. The digestive tract is also less active, which means a dying person won’t feel hungry or thirsty.
Mental and Behavioral Changes
Social and cultural factors help shape a person’s dying experience. For example:
Withdrawal is common as someone starts torealize death is approaching. They’re beginning the process of separating from the world and the people in it.
During the early stage, your loved one may say no to visits from friends, neighbors, and even family. When they do accept visitors, it might be hard for them to interact. That may make you feel rejected, which is especially hard when you know time is of the essence.
The Middle Stages: 1 to 2 Weeks Before
The dying process starts to move faster in the last week or two of life. The acceleration can be frightening for loved ones, especially with mental status changes. As death approaches, you may:
At this point in the end-of-life timeline, a dying person’s body has a hard time maintaining itself. Your loved one may need help with just about any form of activity.
For example, they may have trouble swallowing.This can interfere with medication. If they have been taking pain medications, they may need liquid morphine now to manage pain.
During this end-of-life stage, signs that death is near include:
Breathing changes, often with arattling soundand cough, can occur in this stage. These sounds can be alarming to caregivers but are not uncommon when someone is dying.
During this stage of the end-of-life timeline, people tend to:
It can be hard for you to witness these changes, but it’s important to remain supportive.
The End Stages: Days to Hours Before
In their last days or hours, the dying person may go through several possible stages. Some people experience a sudden surge of energy that can surprise their loved ones. They may want to get out of bed, talk to loved ones, or eat after having no appetite for days or weeks.
You may take these actions as signs that a dying person is getting better, but the energy will soon go away. These energy bursts are usually short and represent a dying person’s final physical acts before moving on.
The previous signs of being close to death return more strongly once the energy has been spent. At this stage:
When your loved one stops breathing and their heart stops beating, death has occurred. Other signs of death include fixed eye gaze, bowel or bladder release, and no muscle tension.
It’s widely believed that hearing is the last sense to stop working.Knowing this can remind you that it’s still valuable to sit with and talk to your dying loved one during this time.
How to Cope With Loss
People deal with grief in different ways. You can:
Supporting a loved one at the end of their life can be difficult, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Reach out to ahospice, social worker, or clergy member to help you navigate the process. They can help you recognize and understand some of the changes that are happening, and help your loved one as they move through the process of death.
Summary
Signs of the dying process can emerge up to 90 days before someone’s death. Knowing these signs may help you prepare for the end of a loved one’s life and bring you comfort as you face the physical and mental changes that happen along the end-of-life timeline.
In the week or two before death, the dying process speeds up. In the final days or hours of life, many people have a brief surge of energy. However, once the surge passes, they may appear worse. You may notice breathing changes and skin discoloration. Don’t hesitate to reach out for support as your loved one approaches death.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hospice Foundation of America.Signs of Approaching Death.Hospice Foundation of America.A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dying Process.Seifart C, Riera Knorrenschild J, Hofmann M, Nestoriuc Y, Rief W, von Blanckenburg P.Let us talk about death: gender effects in cancer patients' preferences for end-of-life discussions.Support Care Cancer. 2020 Oct;28(10):4667-4675. doi:10.1007/s00520-019-05275-1Hartogh GD.Suffering and dying well: on the proper aim of palliative care.Med Health Care Philos. 2017;20(3):413-424. doi:10.1007/s11019-017-9764-3Department of Health, Victoria Government.Managing needs of older people during palliative care.Wholihan D.Seeing the light: End-of-life experiences-visions, energy surges, and other death bed phenomena.Nurs Clin North Am. 2016;51(3):489-500. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2016.05.005Blundon EG, Gallagher RE, Ward LM.Electrophysiological evidence of preserved hearing at the end of life.Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):10336. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67234-9Harvard Health Publishing.5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hospice Foundation of America.Signs of Approaching Death.Hospice Foundation of America.A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dying Process.Seifart C, Riera Knorrenschild J, Hofmann M, Nestoriuc Y, Rief W, von Blanckenburg P.Let us talk about death: gender effects in cancer patients' preferences for end-of-life discussions.Support Care Cancer. 2020 Oct;28(10):4667-4675. doi:10.1007/s00520-019-05275-1Hartogh GD.Suffering and dying well: on the proper aim of palliative care.Med Health Care Philos. 2017;20(3):413-424. doi:10.1007/s11019-017-9764-3Department of Health, Victoria Government.Managing needs of older people during palliative care.Wholihan D.Seeing the light: End-of-life experiences-visions, energy surges, and other death bed phenomena.Nurs Clin North Am. 2016;51(3):489-500. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2016.05.005Blundon EG, Gallagher RE, Ward LM.Electrophysiological evidence of preserved hearing at the end of life.Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):10336. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67234-9Harvard Health Publishing.5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Hospice Foundation of America.Signs of Approaching Death.Hospice Foundation of America.A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dying Process.Seifart C, Riera Knorrenschild J, Hofmann M, Nestoriuc Y, Rief W, von Blanckenburg P.Let us talk about death: gender effects in cancer patients' preferences for end-of-life discussions.Support Care Cancer. 2020 Oct;28(10):4667-4675. doi:10.1007/s00520-019-05275-1Hartogh GD.Suffering and dying well: on the proper aim of palliative care.Med Health Care Philos. 2017;20(3):413-424. doi:10.1007/s11019-017-9764-3Department of Health, Victoria Government.Managing needs of older people during palliative care.Wholihan D.Seeing the light: End-of-life experiences-visions, energy surges, and other death bed phenomena.Nurs Clin North Am. 2016;51(3):489-500. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2016.05.005Blundon EG, Gallagher RE, Ward LM.Electrophysiological evidence of preserved hearing at the end of life.Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):10336. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67234-9Harvard Health Publishing.5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one.
Hospice Foundation of America.Signs of Approaching Death.
Hospice Foundation of America.A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dying Process.
Seifart C, Riera Knorrenschild J, Hofmann M, Nestoriuc Y, Rief W, von Blanckenburg P.Let us talk about death: gender effects in cancer patients' preferences for end-of-life discussions.Support Care Cancer. 2020 Oct;28(10):4667-4675. doi:10.1007/s00520-019-05275-1
Hartogh GD.Suffering and dying well: on the proper aim of palliative care.Med Health Care Philos. 2017;20(3):413-424. doi:10.1007/s11019-017-9764-3
Department of Health, Victoria Government.Managing needs of older people during palliative care.
Wholihan D.Seeing the light: End-of-life experiences-visions, energy surges, and other death bed phenomena.Nurs Clin North Am. 2016;51(3):489-500. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2016.05.005
Blundon EG, Gallagher RE, Ward LM.Electrophysiological evidence of preserved hearing at the end of life.Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):10336. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67234-9
Harvard Health Publishing.5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one.
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