diff --git a/app/courrier/page.tsx b/app/courrier/page.tsx
index 6ef56338..e0820d22 100644
--- a/app/courrier/page.tsx
+++ b/app/courrier/page.tsx
@@ -141,11 +141,21 @@ export default function CourrierPage() {
   useEffect(() => {
     // Flag to prevent multiple initialization attempts
     let isMounted = true;
+    let initAttempted = false;
     
     const initSession = async () => {
+      if (initAttempted) return;
+      initAttempted = true;
+      
       try {
+        setLoading(true);
+        
         // First check if Redis is ready before making API calls
-        const redisStatus = await fetch('/api/redis/status').then(res => res.json()).catch(() => null);
+        const redisStatus = await fetch('/api/redis/status')
+          .then(res => res.json())
+          .catch(() => ({ ready: false }));
+        
+        if (!isMounted) return;
         
         // Call the session API to check email credentials and start prefetching
         const response = await fetch('/api/courrier/session');
@@ -153,29 +163,52 @@ export default function CourrierPage() {
         
         if (!isMounted) return;
         
-        if (data.authenticated && data.hasEmailCredentials) {
-          console.log('Session initialized, prefetching started');
-          setPrefetchStarted(true);
-          
-          // Preload first page of emails for faster initial rendering
-          if (session?.user?.id) {
-            loadEmails();
+        if (data.authenticated) {
+          if (data.hasEmailCredentials) {
+            console.log('Session initialized, prefetch status:', data.prefetchStarted ? 'running' : 'not started');
+            setPrefetchStarted(Boolean(data.prefetchStarted));
+            
+            // Preload first page of emails for faster initial rendering
+            if (session?.user?.id) {
+              await loadEmails();
+              
+              // If the user hasn't opened this page recently, trigger a background refresh
+              if (data.lastVisit && Date.now() - data.lastVisit > 5 * 60 * 1000) {
+                // It's been more than 5 minutes, refresh in background
+                try {
+                  const refreshResponse = await fetch('/api/courrier/refresh', { 
+                    method: 'POST',
+                    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+                    body: JSON.stringify({ folder: currentFolder })
+                  });
+                  console.log('Background refresh triggered');
+                } catch (error) {
+                  console.error('Failed to trigger background refresh', error);
+                }
+              }
+            }
+          } else {
+            // User is authenticated but doesn't have email credentials
+            setShowLoginNeeded(true);
           }
-        } else if (data.authenticated && !data.hasEmailCredentials) {
-          // User is authenticated but doesn't have email credentials
-          setShowLoginNeeded(true);
         }
       } catch (error) {
         console.error('Error initializing session:', error);
+      } finally {
+        if (isMounted) {
+          setLoading(false);
+        }
       }
     };
     
-    initSession();
+    if (session?.user?.id) {
+      initSession();
+    }
     
     return () => {
       isMounted = false;
     };
-  }, [session?.user?.id, loadEmails]);
+  }, [session?.user?.id, loadEmails, currentFolder]);
   
   // Helper to get folder icons
   const getFolderIcon = (folder: string) => {