diff --git a/app/api/notifications/count/route.ts b/app/api/notifications/count/route.ts
index f769d359..bd13e57a 100644
--- a/app/api/notifications/count/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/notifications/count/route.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@ export async function GET(request: Request) {
     const notificationService = NotificationService.getInstance();
     const counts = await notificationService.getNotificationCount(userId);
     
-    return NextResponse.json(counts);
+    // Add Cache-Control header to help with client-side caching
+    const response = NextResponse.json(counts);
+    response.headers.set('Cache-Control', 'private, max-age=10'); // Cache for 10 seconds on client
+    return response;
   } catch (error: any) {
     console.error('Error in notification count API:', error);
     return NextResponse.json(
diff --git a/app/api/notifications/route.ts b/app/api/notifications/route.ts
index a9b405ad..b0f127bb 100644
--- a/app/api/notifications/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/notifications/route.ts
@@ -38,12 +38,15 @@ export async function GET(request: Request) {
     const notificationService = NotificationService.getInstance();
     const notifications = await notificationService.getNotifications(userId, page, limit);
     
-    return NextResponse.json({
+    // Add Cache-Control header to help with client-side caching
+    const response = NextResponse.json({
       notifications,
       page,
       limit,
       total: notifications.length
     });
+    response.headers.set('Cache-Control', 'private, max-age=30'); // Cache for 30 seconds on client
+    return response;
   } catch (error: any) {
     console.error('Error in notifications API:', error);
     return NextResponse.json(
diff --git a/components/notification-badge.tsx b/components/notification-badge.tsx
index cdffe3f0..d0ea63d9 100644
--- a/components/notification-badge.tsx
+++ b/components/notification-badge.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import React from 'react';
+import React, { memo } from 'react';
 import Link from 'next/link';
 import { Bell } from 'lucide-react';
 import { Badge } from '@/components/ui/badge';
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ interface NotificationBadgeProps {
   className?: string;
 }
 
-export function NotificationBadge({ className }: NotificationBadgeProps) {
+// Use React.memo to prevent unnecessary re-renders
+export const NotificationBadge = memo(function NotificationBadge({ className }: NotificationBadgeProps) {
   const { notificationCount } = useNotifications();
   const hasUnread = notificationCount.unread > 0;
   
@@ -32,4 +33,4 @@ export function NotificationBadge({ className }: NotificationBadgeProps) {
       </Link>
     </div>
   );
-} 
\ No newline at end of file
+}); 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hooks/use-notifications.ts b/hooks/use-notifications.ts
index e5e60b9e..7cc93f02 100644
--- a/hooks/use-notifications.ts
+++ b/hooks/use-notifications.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useState, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
+import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
 import { useSession } from 'next-auth/react';
 import { Notification, NotificationCount } from '@/lib/types/notification';
 
@@ -9,20 +9,47 @@ const defaultNotificationCount: NotificationCount = {
   sources: {}
 };
 
+// Debounce function to limit API calls
+function debounce<T extends (...args: any[]) => any>(
+  func: T,
+  wait: number
+): (...args: Parameters<T>) => void {
+  let timeout: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
+  
+  return function(...args: Parameters<T>) {
+    if (timeout) clearTimeout(timeout);
+    timeout = setTimeout(() => func(...args), wait);
+  };
+}
+
 export function useNotifications() {
   const { data: session, status } = useSession();
   const [notifications, setNotifications] = useState<Notification[]>([]);
   const [notificationCount, setNotificationCount] = useState<NotificationCount>(defaultNotificationCount);
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
-  const [pollingInterval, setPollingInterval] = useState<NodeJS.Timeout | null>(null);
+  const pollingIntervalRef = useRef<NodeJS.Timeout | null>(null);
+  const lastFetchTimeRef = useRef<number>(0);
+  const isMountedRef = useRef<boolean>(false);
+  const isPollingRef = useRef<boolean>(false);
+  
+  // Minimum time between fetches (in milliseconds)
+  const MIN_FETCH_INTERVAL = 5000; // 5 seconds
+  const POLLING_INTERVAL = 60000;  // 1 minute
 
-  // Fetch notification count
-  const fetchNotificationCount = useCallback(async () => {
-    if (!session?.user) return;
+  // Fetch notification count with rate limiting
+  const fetchNotificationCount = useCallback(async (force = false) => {
+    if (!session?.user || !isMountedRef.current) return;
+    
+    const now = Date.now();
+    if (!force && now - lastFetchTimeRef.current < MIN_FETCH_INTERVAL) {
+      console.log('Skipping notification count fetch - too soon');
+      return;
+    }
     
     try {
       setError(null);
+      lastFetchTimeRef.current = now;
       
       const response = await fetch('/api/notifications/count');
       
@@ -34,19 +61,34 @@ export function useNotifications() {
       }
       
       const data = await response.json();
-      setNotificationCount(data);
+      if (isMountedRef.current) {
+        setNotificationCount(data);
+      }
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Error fetching notification count:', err);
       setError('Failed to fetch notification count');
     }
   }, [session?.user]);
 
+  // Debounced version to prevent rapid successive calls
+  const debouncedFetchCount = useCallback(
+    debounce(fetchNotificationCount, 300),
+    [fetchNotificationCount]
+  );
+
   // Fetch notifications
   const fetchNotifications = useCallback(async (page = 1, limit = 20) => {
-    if (!session?.user) return;
+    if (!session?.user || !isMountedRef.current) return;
+    
+    const now = Date.now();
+    if (now - lastFetchTimeRef.current < MIN_FETCH_INTERVAL) {
+      console.log('Skipping notifications fetch - too soon');
+      return;
+    }
     
     setLoading(true);
     setError(null);
+    lastFetchTimeRef.current = now;
     
     try {
       const response = await fetch(`/api/notifications?page=${page}&limit=${limit}`);
@@ -59,18 +101,22 @@ export function useNotifications() {
       }
       
       const data = await response.json();
-      setNotifications(data.notifications);
+      if (isMountedRef.current) {
+        setNotifications(data.notifications);
+      }
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Error fetching notifications:', err);
       setError('Failed to fetch notifications');
     } finally {
-      setLoading(false);
+      if (isMountedRef.current) {
+        setLoading(false);
+      }
     }
   }, [session?.user]);
 
   // Mark notification as read
   const markAsRead = useCallback(async (notificationId: string) => {
-    if (!session?.user) return;
+    if (!session?.user) return false;
     
     try {
       const response = await fetch(`/api/notifications/${notificationId}/read`, {
@@ -96,18 +142,18 @@ export function useNotifications() {
       );
       
       // Refresh notification count
-      fetchNotificationCount();
+      debouncedFetchCount(true);
       
       return true;
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Error marking notification as read:', err);
       return false;
     }
-  }, [session?.user, fetchNotificationCount]);
+  }, [session?.user, debouncedFetchCount]);
 
   // Mark all notifications as read
   const markAllAsRead = useCallback(async () => {
-    if (!session?.user) return;
+    if (!session?.user) return false;
     
     try {
       const response = await fetch('/api/notifications/read-all', {
@@ -129,55 +175,62 @@ export function useNotifications() {
       );
       
       // Refresh notification count
-      fetchNotificationCount();
+      debouncedFetchCount(true);
       
       return true;
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Error marking all notifications as read:', err);
       return false;
     }
-  }, [session?.user, fetchNotificationCount]);
+  }, [session?.user, debouncedFetchCount]);
 
   // Start polling for notification count
-  const startPolling = useCallback((interval = 30000) => {
-    if (pollingInterval) {
-      clearInterval(pollingInterval);
+  const startPolling = useCallback(() => {
+    if (isPollingRef.current) return;
+    
+    isPollingRef.current = true;
+    
+    if (pollingIntervalRef.current) {
+      clearInterval(pollingIntervalRef.current);
     }
     
-    const id = setInterval(() => {
-      fetchNotificationCount();
-    }, interval);
+    // Ensure we don't create multiple intervals
+    pollingIntervalRef.current = setInterval(() => {
+      if (isMountedRef.current) {
+        debouncedFetchCount();
+      }
+    }, POLLING_INTERVAL);
     
-    setPollingInterval(id);
-    
-    return () => {
-      clearInterval(id);
-      setPollingInterval(null);
-    };
-  }, [fetchNotificationCount, pollingInterval]);
+    return () => stopPolling();
+  }, [debouncedFetchCount]);
 
   // Stop polling
   const stopPolling = useCallback(() => {
-    if (pollingInterval) {
-      clearInterval(pollingInterval);
-      setPollingInterval(null);
+    if (pollingIntervalRef.current) {
+      clearInterval(pollingIntervalRef.current);
+      pollingIntervalRef.current = null;
     }
-  }, [pollingInterval]);
+    isPollingRef.current = false;
+  }, []);
 
-  // Initialize fetching on component mount
+  // Initialize fetching on component mount and cleanup on unmount
   useEffect(() => {
+    isMountedRef.current = true;
+    
     if (status === 'authenticated' && session?.user) {
-      fetchNotificationCount();
+      // Initial fetches
+      fetchNotificationCount(true);
       fetchNotifications();
       
       // Start polling
-      const cleanup = startPolling();
-      
-      return () => {
-        cleanup();
-      };
+      startPolling();
     }
-  }, [status, session?.user, fetchNotificationCount, fetchNotifications, startPolling]);
+    
+    return () => {
+      isMountedRef.current = false;
+      stopPolling();
+    };
+  }, [status, session?.user, fetchNotificationCount, fetchNotifications, startPolling, stopPolling]);
 
   return {
     notifications,
@@ -185,10 +238,8 @@ export function useNotifications() {
     loading,
     error,
     fetchNotifications,
-    fetchNotificationCount,
+    fetchNotificationCount: () => debouncedFetchCount(true),
     markAsRead,
-    markAllAsRead,
-    startPolling,
-    stopPolling
+    markAllAsRead
   };
 } 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/services/notifications/notification-service.ts b/lib/services/notifications/notification-service.ts
index 9d1f6225..83114fb3 100644
--- a/lib/services/notifications/notification-service.ts
+++ b/lib/services/notifications/notification-service.ts
@@ -278,8 +278,27 @@ export class NotificationService {
     // Use setTimeout to make this non-blocking
     setTimeout(async () => {
       try {
+        // Check if we've refreshed recently (within the last minute)
+        // to avoid excessive refreshes from multiple tabs/components
+        const refreshKey = `notifications:last_refresh:${userId}`;
+        const lastRefresh = await redis.get(refreshKey);
+        
+        if (lastRefresh) {
+          const lastRefreshTime = parseInt(lastRefresh, 10);
+          const now = Date.now();
+          
+          // If refreshed in the last minute, skip
+          if (now - lastRefreshTime < 60000) {
+            console.log(`[NOTIFICATION_SERVICE] Skipping background refresh for user ${userId} - refreshed recently`);
+            return;
+          }
+        }
+        
         console.log(`[NOTIFICATION_SERVICE] Background refresh started for user ${userId}`);
         
+        // Set last refresh time
+        await redis.set(refreshKey, Date.now().toString(), 'EX', 120); // 2 minute TTL
+        
         // Refresh counts and notifications (for first page)
         await this.getNotificationCount(userId);
         await this.getNotifications(userId, 1, 20);