If you've ever sat and pondered over what will happen when you die, you're not alone.
Is there an afterlife? Is heaven real? Or, is that just it? It's best not think too hard about it all or you risk giving yourself a bit of a headache.
But, while everyone has their own ideas around what happens once a person passes away, some scientists have their own theories around life after death and it's truly fascinating.
Dr Stuart Hameroff, from the University of Arizona, had a theory that human consciousness was related on the same level as quantum mechanics.
Advert
Along with mathematician Roger Penrose, the two proposed the 'orchested objective reduction' theory, which explores the idea that our consciousness 'reflects our place in the universe, the nature of our existence'.
The theory - which is reminiscent to the 'double slit' experiment - suggested that the microtubles, which contain quantum energy, in our brains create a 'proto-conscious' structure of reality influenced by information.
So meaning that when a person dies, their mind creates its own form of reality.
And they aren't the only ones to propose this idea.
Advert
UK scientist Dr Sam Parnia appeared on National Geographic's The Story of God, hosted by Morgan Freeman, where he revealed that he believes that human consciousness lives on after we die.
Dr Parnia studied more than 100 cases of cardiac arrest survivors, in cases where the patients technically died before coming back to life, and many of them had bizarre experiences to share from their time on death's door.
Speaking in 2017, the doctor said: "We know that actually for thousands of years, people who have come close to death for any reason have had these very profound, deep and in some ways mystical experiences.
Advert
"People feel an immense sense of peace, comfort and joy when they go through death.
"They may describe a sensation of actually meeting deceased relatives, friends, or others that they don’t really know.
"So I think what we are beginning to understand is that we have very much a universal experience of death."
The doctor, who leads the Human Consciousness Project at the University of Southampton went on to claim that once a person is dying and their body is turned into a corpse, that is when the cells inside the body will begin the process of death, which can take as long as several days.
Advert
"So actually we have this window of time where we can bring people back to life and the experiences that they have given us is an indication of what it is like to go through death," he said.
"Today we call the soul consciousness in science, so we can test the theory scientifically.
"The evidence we have is that when a person dies, that part that makes us who we are – the soul or mind, or whatever you call it – it does not become annihilated."
However because of how little is known about the human mind, there's sadly not a definitive answer to the question - but it is an interesting thought.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photos