Is there really life after death? And do people actually experience their life flashing before their eyes before meaning the end? For years and years this topic has been debated on, with no clear answer in sight.
Now a new report from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine might actually prove these things are true.
A recent study published this week in the journal Resuscitation has revealed that brain activity and awareness can continue beyond what was previously thought. The findings suggest that patients who have been revived after cardiac arrest share some common experiences, like 360-degree awareness and vivid memories of their lives passing before them.
Dr. Sam Parnia, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and lead author on the study, believes these shared experiences are “unique and universal” and different from dreams, illusions or delusions.
To gain insight into what happens during resuscitation attempts after cardiac arrest, Dr. Parnia’s team studied 53 patients across 25 hospitals in the United States and United Kingdom. They found that almost 40% reported having memories or conscious thoughts during their near death experience (NDE).
Brain wave recordings showed markers for higher mental function associated with normal brain activity up to an hour into resuscitation attempts.
As Dr. Parnia explains it: “In death, they have a perception that they are separate from their body…and then they can move around. But they’re in that [hospital] room and they’re gathering information. They felt that they were fully conscious.” He shares how many people report seeing their entire life pass before them while undergoing NDEs: “It’s a deep, purposeful and meaningful reevaluation of their lives” that is not in any particular order, but more focused on morality and ethics rather than mundane details like work promotions.
Additionally many people describe arriving at a familiar place such as home or feeling warmth radiating towards them from an unknown being of light standing nearby.
The research conducted by NYU Langone Health is potentially groundbreaking for emergency resuscitation care which has seen frustratingly low survival rates since its invention 60 years ago with CPR techniques remaining relatively unchanged since then.
While science doesn’t yet understand why these NDEs occur Dr. Parnia hypothesizes that when faced with death our brains become “disinhibited” allowing us access to all aspects of consciousness which would otherwise be blocked off by braking systems normally present in everyday life situations – including emotions, feelings, thoughts and memories usually considered dormant within us until activated by moments such as this one.
