diff --git a/packages/functions-runtime/src/database.js b/packages/functions-runtime/src/database.js
index ff76ecdc5..3f9f06b74 100644
--- a/packages/functions-runtime/src/database.js
+++ b/packages/functions-runtime/src/database.js
@@ -145,6 +145,19 @@ function getDialect() {
       return new PostgresDialect({
         pool: new InstrumentedPool({
           Client: InstrumentedClient,
+          // Increased idle time before closing a connection in the local pool (from 10s default).
+          // Establising a new connection on (almost) every functions query can be expensive, so this
+          // will reduce having to open connections as regularly. https://node-postgres.com/apis/pool
+          //
+          // NOTE: We should consider setting this to 0 (i.e. never pool locally) and open and close
+          // connections with each invocation. This is because the freeze/thaw nature of lambdas can cause problems
+          // with long-lived connections - see https://github.com/brianc/node-postgres/issues/2718
+          // Once we're "fully regional" this should not be a performance problem anymore.
+          //
+          // Although I doubt we will run into these freeze/thaw issues if idleTimeoutMillis is always shorter than the
+          // time is takes for a lambda to freeze (which is not a constant, but could be as short as several minutes,
+          // https://www.pluralsight.com/resources/blog/cloud/how-long-does-aws-lambda-keep-your-idle-functions-around-before-a-cold-start)
+          idleTimeoutMillis: 120000,
           connectionString: mustEnv("KEEL_DB_CONN"),
         }),
       });
diff --git a/runtime/actions/create.go b/runtime/actions/create.go
index 110bd51fb..d8904035a 100644
--- a/runtime/actions/create.go
+++ b/runtime/actions/create.go
@@ -38,13 +38,6 @@ func Create(scope *Scope, input map[string]any) (res map[string]any, err error)
 	case !canResolveEarly:
 		err = database.Transaction(scope.Context, func(ctx context.Context) error {
 			scope := scope.WithContext(ctx)
-			query := NewQuery(scope.Model)
-
-			// Generate the SQL statement
-			statement, err := GenerateCreateStatement(query, scope, input)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
 
 			// Execute database request, expecting a single result
 			res, err = statement.ExecuteToSingle(scope.Context)
diff --git a/runtime/actions/get.go b/runtime/actions/get.go
index 0b0bb90ce..332e1b8ea 100644
--- a/runtime/actions/get.go
+++ b/runtime/actions/get.go
@@ -17,9 +17,8 @@ func Get(scope *Scope, input map[string]any) (map[string]any, error) {
 		return nil, common.NewPermissionError()
 	}
 
-	query := NewQuery(scope.Model)
-
 	// Generate the SQL statement
+	query := NewQuery(scope.Model)
 	statement, err := GenerateGetStatement(query, scope, input)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
diff --git a/runtime/actions/list.go b/runtime/actions/list.go
index 4a93d5484..f0a9cd27f 100644
--- a/runtime/actions/list.go
+++ b/runtime/actions/list.go
@@ -121,9 +121,8 @@ func List(scope *Scope, input map[string]any) (map[string]any, error) {
 		return nil, common.NewPermissionError()
 	}
 
-	query := NewQuery(scope.Model)
-
 	// Generate the SQL statement.
+	query := NewQuery(scope.Model)
 	statement, page, err := GenerateListStatement(query, scope, input)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err