Apparently your brain might stay alive long enough to know you’re dead
For obvious reasons, death and what happens after we die is largely a mystery to those of us still alive. However, we just learned something very interesting…and very creepy. As if the idea of dying wasn’t scary enough, scientists have discovered that your brain may continue to work after death.
No, you won’t be working on complicated math problems as your body lays lifeless, but according to Dr. Sam Parnia, you may be aware that you’ve died because your consciousness will continue to work even after your body has stopped showing signs of life.
So, technically, you could possibly hear the exact moment paramedics announce your death or maybe final words from loved ones.
Dr. Sam Parnia and his team at NYU Langone School of Medicine in New York City have been studying people who’ve suffered cardiac arrest, were pronounced dead, but then later revived. Many of those who participated in the study reported to have had full awareness of the conversations happening around them and were even able to recall the things they saw after they were pronounced dead. Wait, what?
If you’re a little skeptical, you might be wondering how can we be sure the participants of the study weren’t just making things up? Well, the accounts were later verified by the people who were present during the time of their “deaths.”
Dr Sam Parnia said our time of death is based on the moment when the heart stops.
“Once that happens, blood no longer circulates to the brain, which means brain function halts almost instantaneously. You lose all your brain stem reflexes — your gag reflex, your pupil reflex, all that is gone.”
So, how does the brain continue to function after blood circulation stops? Back in 2013. researchers at the University of Michigan provided evidence that suggests that there is a sudden burst of brain energy as we’re taking our last breaths.
We’re not sure how we feel about possibly hearing or seeing the happenings around us after we’ve been declared dead and we’re really in no rush to find out. So for now, we’ll just take the word of the professionals.
Happy Halloween, we guess?
