After you die, your consciousness continues, scientist says

• Finnish researcher Pekka Rechardt believes human consciousness may continue to exist even after the brain stops functioning.

• He based his theory on accounts of cardiac arrest survivors who recalled vivid experiences despite medical records showing little or no electrical activity in their brains.

• Rechardt argues that near-death experiences could offer ‘a glimpse’ of what awaits people after death.

Pekka Rechardt, a Finnish-based scientist, believes human consciousness might continue to exist even after the brain has stopped functioning.

Studying patients who suffered from cardiac arrests, Rechardt arrived at this conclusion after some of those patients recalled vivid experiences from moments when medical records showed little or no electrical activity in their brains.

According to the Daily Mail, Rechardt argued that some near-death experiences occurred when an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that measures electrical activity in the brain, showed a flat reading.

This led him to question the widely held belief that consciousness depends entirely on brain activity. He identified three important features in the accounts of people who experienced near-death experiences (NDEs): a feeling of being present, vivid sensations and the ability to experience events in a connected and meaningful way.

To explain his theory, Rechardt compared consciousness to someone taking a walk along a sunny beach. Different parts of the brain process separate details of the experience, such as what the person sees and feels. Yet, the individual experiences all these things together at the same time. He believes this suggests that consciousness is more than the separate activities taking place in the brain.

“This empirical consideration supports life after death being a credible option,” he says.

Rechardt also argued that explaining what happens physically in the brain does not fully account for the personal experience of being aware or present. He compared this to identifying the brain's response to a particular colour without being able to explain what it actually feels like for someone to see that colour.

He further suggested that even if death breaks the connection between the brain and consciousness, it does not necessarily mean consciousness itself disappears. To illustrate this, he compared it to destroying a painting, which would not also destroy the person who had been looking at it.

However, he acknowledged that for consciousness to survive the death of the brain, there would have to be some form of existence that does not depend on the brain.

Rechardt believes near-death experiences could offer ‘a glimpse’ of what happens after death, when the body can no longer perform the functions needed to keep a person alive.

Meanwhile, end-of-life expert Catherine Duncan has shared some of the experiences people report as they approach death.

Speaking in a TikTok video, Duncan said some dying people claim to see relatives who passed away before them. Others talk about ‘going on a trip’, say their loved ones are waiting for them or report hearing music.

She added that some people even describe conversations with deceased relatives who tell them that ‘it’s time’ to leave.

“Sometimes the permission they need doesn’t come from us. It comes from someone on the other side,” Duncan explained.

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By Akinjide Adebowale