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LONDON — There may be a small amount of life after death, scientists believe.

The largest ever medical study into near-death and out-of-body experiences has discovered that awareness may continue even after the brain has shut down completely.

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It is a controversial theory which has, until recently, been treated with widespread skepticism.

Scientists at the University of Southampton spent four years examining more than 2,000 people who suffered cardiac arrests at 15 hospitals in the U.K., U.S. and Austria.

They found that nearly 40% of those who survived described some kind of “awareness” during the time when they were clinically dead before their hearts were restarted.

One man even recalled leaving his body entirely and watching his resuscitation from the corner of the room.

Despite being unconscious and “dead” for three minutes the 57-year-old social worker from Southampton, recounted the actions of the nursing staff in detail and described the sound of the machines.