diff --git a/changelog.d/19755.misc b/changelog.d/19755.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6ad478e531
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/19755.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Reduce `WORKER_LOCK_MAX_RETRY_INTERVAL` to 5 seconds to reduce idle time after lock is released.
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/worker_lock.py b/synapse/handlers/worker_lock.py
index 51be3b5084..57792ea53c 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/worker_lock.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/worker_lock.py
@@ -54,7 +54,18 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 # will not disappear under our feet as long as we don't delete the room.
 NEW_EVENT_DURING_PURGE_LOCK_NAME = "new_event_during_purge_lock"
 
-WORKER_LOCK_MAX_RETRY_INTERVAL = Duration(seconds=60)
+WORKER_LOCK_MAX_RETRY_INTERVAL = Duration(seconds=5)
+"""
+The maximum wait time before retrying to acquire the lock.
+
+Better to retry more quickly than have workers wait around. 5 seconds is still a
+reasonable gap in time to not overwhelm the CPU/Database.
+
+This matters most in cross-worker scenarios. When locks are on the same worker, when the
+lock holder releases, we signal to other locks (with the same name/key) that they
+should try reacquiring the lock immediately. But locks on other workers only re-check
+based on their retry `_timeout_interval`.
+"""
 WORKER_LOCK_EXCESSIVE_WAITING_WARN_DURATION = Duration(minutes=10)