I am still ponderously going through all my old blog posts. I’m currently 7 years back, in the summer of 2008.

The post that caught my eye was about how I had originally thought that the time it takes for brain tissue to start getting irreversibly damaged from lack of oxygen is exactly the same as the time it takes for the light from the sun to reach earth (8 minutes).

I honestly can’t remember where I got the eight minute time frame for irreversible damage from brain hypoxia. MedlinePlus mentions less than 5 minutes.

Fetal and Neonatal Neurology and Neurosurgery notes:

Total anoxia for less than 8 minutes did not result in consistent neuronal injury, whereas anoxia for more than 10 minutes invariably produced neuropathology.

Elsevier Comprehensive Guide to Postgraduate Medical Entrance Examinations states:

Irreversible damage takes place in 6-8 minutes.

Ah well, maybe I’ll have to do more research than just Googling.