• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Humans know what happens in the minutes after they die, research says

Bullet Club

Banned
Humans know what happens in the minutes after they die, research says

Scientists have found evidence that suggests the human brain still works for a short time after death – meaning people know when they’re dead.

Researchers made the discovery by looking at cardiac arrest cases in Europe and the US.

What they learned was people who had been resuscitated could describe what happened, including conversations between doctors and nurses, after their heart stopped beating.

Dr Sam Parnia, who led the research, explained:

"They’ll describe watching doctors and nurses working, they’ll describe having awareness of full conversations, of visual things that were going on, that would otherwise not be known to them.​

It [the time a patient is declared dead] is all based on the moment when the heart stops. Technically speaking, that’s how you get the time of death."​

After the heart ceases beating, blood stops circulating to the brain and it begins to shut down.

But, this process can reportedly take hours to complete, leaving a window of time where a person is officially dead and still aware of what’s going on around them.

The team of researchers, from New York’s Stony Brook University of Medicine, hope their work will help improve treatment of cardiac arrests and prevent brain injuries during resuscitation.

Dr Parnia added:

"At the same time, we also study the human mind and consciousness in the context of death, to understand whether consciousness becomes annihilated or whether it continues after you've died for some period of time — and how that relates to what's happening inside the brain in real time."​

The question of what happens when we die is still one of life’s greatest mysteries but the research shows there is some kind of life after death.

Source: Indy100
 

RedVIper

Banned
So basicly its a technicality, you're only really dead when your brain shuts down not your heart. I wonder what these "scientists" got paid to figure this out lol.

We knew this already
 
Last edited:
Well dying is in general :p
For sure.

I watched them try to resuscitate my mom after her cardia arrest in hospital. Then I spent some time with her after she was pronounced dead. It messes me up just to think that she could still potentially hear me.

Trapped inside a dying body.
 
Terrifying. It does show, however, that our medical definitions for death are a bit outdated.

Not really. Here's the exact medical definition of death:

"An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards."

Seems pretty clear cut and definitive to me. Here's how to diagnose it:

The official signs of death include the following:
  • no pupil reaction to light
  • no response of the eyes to caloric (warm or cold) stimulation
  • no jaw reflex (the jaw will react like the knee if hit with a reflex hammer)
  • no gag reflex (touching the back of the throat induces vomiting)
  • no response to pain
  • no breathing
  • a body temperature above 86 °F (30 °C), which eliminates the possibility of resuscitation following cold-water drowning
  • no other cause for the above, such as a head injury
  • no drugs present in the body that could cause apparent death
  • all of the above for 12 hours
  • all of the above for six hours and a flat-line electroencephalogram (brain wave study)
  • no blood circulating to the brain, as demonstrated by angiography
So from a medical standpoint, a person suffering a heart attack is not to be considered 'dead' as the above mentioned article would suggest.
 
You might be able to resuscitate without the physical action then. Flash them, tell them something they're inherently against. If i wear a flat earth or scientology t-shirt or "Sega won" shirt and they comment I'll come back with a venom.
 

LordPezix

Member
As someone who has died and been resuscitated I would say there are probably a lot of factors to this.


That experience was one of the most profound moments of my life... or not life, whatever.
 
Not really. Here's the exact medical definition of death:

Seems pretty clear cut and definitive to me. Here's how to diagnose it:

The official signs of death include the following:
  • no pupil reaction to light
  • no response of the eyes to caloric (warm or cold) stimulation
  • no jaw reflex (the jaw will react like the knee if hit with a reflex hammer)
  • no gag reflex (touching the back of the throat induces vomiting)
  • no response to pain
  • no breathing
  • a body temperature above 86 °F (30 °C), which eliminates the possibility of resuscitation following cold-water drowning
  • no other cause for the above, such as a head injury
  • no drugs present in the body that could cause apparent death
  • all of the above for 12 hours
  • all of the above for six hours and a flat-line electroencephalogram (brain wave study)
  • no blood circulating to the brain, as demonstrated by angiography
So from a medical standpoint, a person suffering a heart attack is not to be considered 'dead' as the above mentioned article would suggest.
Right, that's what I'm pointing out.

They are saying the brain still functions "in those minutes immediately after death [heart stops]" which to me means the person is not really... y'know... dead. They hope this information will help "to understand whether consciousness becomes annihilated or whether it continues after you've died for some period of time — and how that relates to what's happening inside the brain in real time". However, I don't see how this will offer any definitive answers since the subjects aren't really dead in the first place.

If there is no brain activity, the person still won't be considered "dead" if the organs are functioning. I would consider these examples of being on the verge of death, even if medically they still consider it "coming back from the dead" because their heart was stopped for a period of time.

Zapping a corpse a few days after death to see if consciousness resumes? That's a far more interesting question, in my opinion.

I am also not a medical professional in any way. :messenger_beaming:
 
Wasn't the mind continuing on post-death and having to watch everything around it the basis for a Tales from the Crypt episode?
 

Fujan

Member
I thought we already knew this for a very long time. Wasn't that the reason when they decapitated someone the head would be shown towards the crowd?
 

mekes

Member
In this day and age there’s a one in 2 chance you’ll die extremely sedated so there is that.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
ValidSmoothEyelashpitviper-small.gif
 

Dark Star

Member
i'd like to see more research on the DMT aspect of dying.
like you see the whole universe, other dimensions, fractals, etc in the final moments of your life.
sort of like a release of the drug when your brain reaches that point.
i read somewhere else that this happens when your born but idk about that ...

 
Last edited:

LordPezix

Member
What happened. Do you remember anything?

Absolutely.

It's very hard to explain but I will try.

It's as if you get rolled back to square one. The very simple base of consciousness is what I remember. I was aware that I could be aware if that makes sense. I lost all premonitions of everything. I didn't know my name or that I even had life prior to just coming into this existence. I didn't even have a grasp of emotions or feelings or thoughts. Any fear, remorse, happiness, etc didn't exist.

If the word content was fully realized that was what I remember. I felt weightless and I'm not sure I could see because it was just pure darkness. I didn't feel that I had a body but I was sort of moving as if via floating through something.

Being that I didn't know anything nor did I feel anything I thought it was peaceful after the fact. The crazy thing is I don't remember how I got there. One minute I was in a car the next just this floating black existence.

Ever since I came back I think about it often. Any fear I've had of death is almost gone because what I experienced just fortifies my belief that when you do pass you don't even remember your previous life, so any sadness, or fear just erases itself from your memory.
 
Absolutely.

It's very hard to explain but I will try.

It's as if you get rolled back to square one. The very simple base of consciousness is what I remember. I was aware that I could be aware if that makes sense. I lost all premonitions of everything. I didn't know my name or that I even had life prior to just coming into this existence. I didn't even have a grasp of emotions or feelings or thoughts. Any fear, remorse, happiness, etc didn't exist.

If the word content was fully realized that was what I remember. I felt weightless and I'm not sure I could see because it was just pure darkness. I didn't feel that I had a body but I was sort of moving as if via floating through something.

Being that I didn't know anything nor did I feel anything I thought it was peaceful after the fact. The crazy thing is I don't remember how I got there. One minute I was in a car the next just this floating black existence.

Ever since I came back I think about it often. Any fear I've had of death is almost gone because what I experienced just fortifies my belief that when you do pass you don't even remember your previous life, so any sadness, or fear just erases itself from your memory.
Wow. Thanks for sharing.

You think I should start going to church or no?
 

LordPezix

Member
Wow. Thanks for sharing.

You think I should start going to church or no?

I'm not traditionally religious. I don't think we were meant to understand death. Just as Gandalf said "Death is just another path, one we all must take."

The beginning of life, your consciousness, is just as mysterious to me as the transition afterwards.

The thing I learned the most was that we rarely if ever get to choose when we go, the only real control we have is the manner in which we live. Ever since my incident I do take chances, and try new things, because if truly that is what the end is like, then you won't even realize you had anything to lose in the first place.
 

caffeware

Banned
Absolutely.

It's very hard to explain but I will try.

It's as if you get rolled back to square one. The very simple base of consciousness is what I remember. I was aware that I could be aware if that makes sense. I lost all premonitions of everything. I didn't know my name or that I even had life prior to just coming into this existence. I didn't even have a grasp of emotions or feelings or thoughts. Any fear, remorse, happiness, etc didn't exist.

If the word content was fully realized that was what I remember. I felt weightless and I'm not sure I could see because it was just pure darkness. I didn't feel that I had a body but I was sort of moving as if via floating through something.

Being that I didn't know anything nor did I feel anything I thought it was peaceful after the fact. The crazy thing is I don't remember how I got there. One minute I was in a car the next just this floating black existence.

Ever since I came back I think about it often. Any fear I've had of death is almost gone because what I experienced just fortifies my belief that when you do pass you don't even remember your previous life, so any sadness, or fear just erases itself from your memory.

If I may ask: What was your spiritual/religious leaning before this experience?
 
Not really. Here's the exact medical definition of death:



Seems pretty clear cut and definitive to me. Here's how to diagnose it:

The official signs of death include the following:
  • no pupil reaction to light
  • no response of the eyes to caloric (warm or cold) stimulation
  • no jaw reflex (the jaw will react like the knee if hit with a reflex hammer)
  • no gag reflex (touching the back of the throat induces vomiting)
  • no response to pain
  • no breathing
  • a body temperature above 86 °F (30 °C), which eliminates the possibility of resuscitation following cold-water drowning
  • no other cause for the above, such as a head injury
  • no drugs present in the body that could cause apparent death
  • all of the above for 12 hours
  • all of the above for six hours and a flat-line electroencephalogram (brain wave study)
  • no blood circulating to the brain, as demonstrated by angiography
So from a medical standpoint, a person suffering a heart attack is not to be considered 'dead' as the above mentioned article would suggest.

I think you've proven his point. The idea is that the medical definition is outdated.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
What a stupid claim..... to be declared dead when the heart stops. Who knew docs and scientists would make such an odd definition.

If my heart stops right now, it's not like my entire body and mind will turn into a stone cold sack of potatoes in 0.0001 seconds.
 
'After they die' = after heart stops. Which is a crappy definition IMO. You're not dead until your brain function ceases entirely. This can be minutes after your heart stops which is why they try to resuscitate you even after your heart stops beating.
 
Last edited:

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I have wondered if you're beheaded in one clean swipe if you have a moment of consciousness as your head falls to the ground.
 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
doesn't the brain release DMT on the moment of death? if you are not getting reception from your physical senses, yet still aware, you would likely be in a sort of dream state, experiencing in seconds what could seem like days or months, some psychedelic transcendent awareness.

i read the Tibetan Book of the Dead a few years ago. it was the famous Walter Evans-Wentz version, thus through a theosophist lense. for me, this era of modern occultists are quite valid and belong in the alternate spiritual tradition, as theirs is a mystical tradition, transcendent and incorporeal. in the intro, he has that what you experience after you die is more or less what you've been brought up to expect. you go to heaven if you're a Christian, you see Vishnu if you're a Hindu, etc. it is based on the imagery you were raised in, or are attached most strongly to. it's a Jungian take, but it makes sense. after all, our dreams are populated by things we experience in real life and fiction.

if you are from one culture you will see the angels and heavens of that culture. other people may experience other things. after all, if all that is left of your life is a dream, and you are pulling from these unconscious experiences, then perhaps those dreams are archetypal. add in DMT and we have one helluva trip. DMT itself makes time expand and contract (the only time i took it i experienced pure time displacement) and dreams can seem like they last for hours, days, years even. it's something to think about. or not. lol.
 
Last edited:

LordPezix

Member
doesn't the brain release DMT on the moment of death? if you are not getting reception from your physical senses, yet still aware, you would likely be in a sort of dream state, experiencing in seconds what could seem like days or months, some psychedelic transcendent awareness.

i read the Tibetan Book of the Dead a few years ago. it was the famous Walter Evans-Wentz version, thus through a theosophist lense. for me, this era of modern occultists are quite valid and belong in the alternate spiritual tradition, as theirs is a mystical tradition, transcendent and incorporeal. in the intro, he has that what you experience after you die is more or less what you've been brought up to expect. you go to heaven if you're a Christian, you see Vishnu if you're a Hindu, etc. it is based on the imagery you were raised in, or are attached most strongly to. it's a Jungian take, but it makes sense. after all, our dreams are populated by things we experience in real life and fiction.

if you are from one culture you will see the angels and heavens of that culture. other people may experience other things. after all, if all that is left of your life is a dream, and you are pulling from these unconscious experiences, then perhaps those dreams are archetypal. add in DMT and we have one helluva trip. DMT itself makes time expand and contract (the only time i took it i experienced pure time displacement) and dreams can seem like they last for hours, days, years even. it's something to think about. or not. lol.

Science says that DMT is released when experiencing near death or death like moments. I've taken DMT and my trip was very different from my death experience. But I do believe that in your subconscious construct that it is very much made up of what you believe.

I do believe that energy is neither created nor destroyed and that everything made up in our known universe is just vibrating energy. I believe in energy transference and the crazy thing about my experience is that I look back and I imagine what a new fetus might experience. Complete darkness and a sense of floating. Sort of how I think a womb might feel from the inside. I do believe in reincarnation and I think my energy transferred to a new host but my current host was able to recall my energy via medical defibrillator.

I experienced massive head trauma and that is why I think I didn't experience the DMT trip is because the pineal gland is located in brain and didn't have time to release the DMT as what might occur in bodily death.

But I also didn't have firm beliefs in what happened after death, therefor I very well could have DMT tripped a nothingness because at the time I was unsure and I didn't like to make assumptions so what Walter Evans-Wentz talks about could have very well been a sort of world I created myself.

It is a very interesting topic indeed.
 

G-Bus

Banned
Always been fascinated with near death experiences and what not so this isn't surprising to me.

Bit creepy to think about.
 
M

Macapala

Unconfirmed Member
Call me weird, but I think it would be peaceful. We spend our entire lives wondering when our inevitable death will come, finally having the answer would be quite calming.
 
So basicly its a technicality, you're only really dead when your brain shuts down not your heart. I wonder what these "scientists" got paid to figure this out lol.

We knew this already
This is what happens when people which don’t have any clue of science are responsible for allocating resources to diferente project proposals.
 
Top Bottom