People 'freaking out' over disturbing process that happens to your body after you die
None of us are completely sure about what happens when we eventually kick the bucket.
Frida Kahlo memorably hoped for a 'joyful exit' and to never return, while Alfred Hitchcock put it best when he said, 'one has to die to know exactly what happens after death'.
Whether you're intending to knock on heaven's door, worrying about the possibility of being banished in hell, or riding on the hopes of reincarnation, we all often wonder what comes next.
It seems that our bodies may be more aware of what's going on than a lot of people realise - especially our brains.
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But although the information is fascinating, it has left a lot of people feeling extremely 'freaked out' about the prospect of death.
TikToker and podcast host Jade, better known online as @jade.loves.crime, managed to spook a lot of social media users when she shared her 'fun death fact' online.
She began: "Did you know that when your heart stops and you clinically die, your brain keeps trucking and appears to know that you're dead?"
I think I speak for a lot of us when I say no Jade, I did not.
The content creator explained that the most energy-consuming organ humans have doesn't just go kaput when we die.
Clinically speaking, the body is considered dead when the heart stops beating, but the brain – the mastermind behind everything – keeps running for a few minutes, according to research from the University of Western Ontario in 2017.
As part of their report, the researchers found that brain wave burst had continued 'following the cessation of both the cardiac rhythm and arterial blood pressure', suggesting that the brain might continue to function briefly after death.
Now, obviously, this depends on how you die – if you pass away from a head injury for instance, it's likely the brain is going to shut off much quicker.
But if you die from a heart problem, for example, your brain sticks around for a bit, as a few studies have shown.
Still, that's not the strangest part, as 'modern science has allowed for some fascinating studies, these studies have shown that your brain has enough juice after death to continue firing for up to seven minutes'.
According to New York University: "Evidence now suggests that if left alone, the cells of the brain die slowly over a period of many hours, even days after the heart stops and a person dies."
Whatever the time scale, everything basically points to the fact that our brains keep churning for a while.
Jade went on to say: "In fact, there have been recorded cases where people have been able to intelligently communicate after their heart stopped beating.
"Think of it like anaesthesia, that medicine just hit your IV but you have a few seconds to speak before the lights go out."
But she did remind people that this doesn't mean 'you'll be aware' of what's going on.
"You might have around 6-11 seconds where you are but then the brain is on its own," she added. "It's the last worker - to stay late, close up shop and shut off all of the lights. It's remarkable how the body and brain just knows how to die."
Although the news might provide some source of comfort to some people, the overwhelming majority would have rather gone on without knowing.
One person commented: "This is probably the most feared thing you have said. Nobody wants to know you're dead."
Another said: "So our brains kinda sit there like 'welp, now what?'"
A third added: "Well, that's terrifying."
A fourth wrote: "It's oddly comforting to know my mom at least knew she was gone."
And a fifth likened the process to technology, saying: "It’s kinda like a computer after you click shut down and the monitor goes black the actual computer is still slowly shutting down."
Olivia Burke