How does freezing to death feel like?

The process of freezing to death is usually very painful in the beginning as the nerves can still feel the cold and report the pain to the body.

As the skin dies and the nerves lose their ability to communicate pain, a person will stop feeling pain as a result of the very cold temperature.

Some people who experienced a near death experience in a cold environment reported feeling very sleepy.

As the muscles cool down they become stiffer, thus making it hard for a person to maintain balance and co-ordination. (See What happens to the body in cold weather?)

Many people act irrational while freezing to death. Some people get naked while others try to get inside small holes to seek shelter. The motives behind those actions are still not completely understood.

The body slows down its metabolic rate greatly and this is why some people experience feelings of calmness during such a situation.

The slow metabolic rate in addition to the low amount of oxygen going to the brain can sometimes trigger visual and auditory hallucinations. (See What does it feel like to drown?)

As muscles that previously tried to limit blood flow to extremities fail, the blood rushes back to the extremities, thus a person feels hot. Scientists concluded that this is the reason some people take off their clothes before dying in cold weather.

As the body cools down below a certain temperature unconsciousness usually happens and the person appears to be dead even though he is still alive.

As a result of the failure of internal organs, a person can experience a cardiac arrest that leads to his death.