Written By: Pavitra Sampath | Published : October 22, 2014 7:11 PM IST
Life after death is a common belief in Indian culture, but what if this belief were to be dispelled? Well, now researchers have found that life after death might actually exist. In a recent study, researchers at the University of Southampton examined more than 2,000 people who suffered cardiac arrests at 15 hospitals in the UK, US and Austria and found out what they experienced when they were clinically dead.
What did the study find?
The study found that about 40% of the people who were questioned after their experience spoke about some form of awareness during the time when they were clinically dead before their hearts were restarted. While the results are still baffling scientists who say that the brain dies once a person's heart stops pumping blood. In a statement to the Daily Telegraph, Dr Sam Parnia, a former Southampton University research fellow now based at the State University of New York, who led the study, said, 'We know the brain can't function when the heart has stopped beating, but in this case conscious awareness appears to have continued for up to three minutes into the period when the heart wasn't beating, even though the brain typically shuts down within 20-30 seconds after the heart has stopped.'
Out of all the people who were a part of this study, one man, who was clinically dead for over 3 minutes described everything that happened in the room after his heart stopped. He was able to recall the entire procedure in detail and even the beeping of the machines that indicate a three-minute marker.
Apart from that the others felt a sense of detachment from their bodies and one person even reported leaving his body and watching the resuscitation attempts from the corner of the room. Others said they either felt a sense of calm or peace while still others staid like they were drowning or being pulled away into the abyss.
According to Dr Parnia many more people may have experiences when they are close to death but drugs or sedatives used in the process of resuscitation may stop them remembering. 'Estimates have suggested that millions of people have had vivid experiences in relation to death but the scientific evidence has been ambiguous at best. Many people have assumed that these were hallucinations or illusions but they do seem to correspond to actual events. And a higher proportion of people may have vivid death experiences, but do not recall them due to the effects of brain injury or sedative drugs on memory circuits. These experiences warrant further investigation.'
Image source: Getty Images
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