diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Meet/MeetingRoomController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Meet/MeetingRoomController.php
index b069b15..2d81f9f 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Meet/MeetingRoomController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Meet/MeetingRoomController.php
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ use App\Services\Meet\WebinarService;
 use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
 use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;
 use Illuminate\Http\Request;
+use Illuminate\Http\Response;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
 use Illuminate\View\View;
 
 class MeetingRoomController extends Controller
@@ -387,7 +389,12 @@ class MeetingRoomController extends Controller
         ]);
     }
 
-    public function poll(Request $request, Session $session): JsonResponse
+    /**
+     * Room state for clients. Shared payload is cached briefly so concurrent
+     * pollers (every participant every few seconds) do not each re-run the full
+     * query fan-out. Per-participant media is still computed fresh.
+     */
+    public function poll(Request $request, Session $session): JsonResponse|Response
     {
         if (! $session->isLive()) {
             $townHall = app(TownHallService::class);
@@ -419,77 +426,128 @@ class MeetingRoomController extends Controller
 
         $participant = $this->currentParticipant($request, $session);
 
-        app(BreakoutService::class)->closeExpired($session);
+        // Breakout expiry is not latency-critical; run at most once per 30s/session.
+        if (Cache::add("meet:breakout-close:{$session->id}", 1, 30)) {
+            app(BreakoutService::class)->closeExpired($session);
+        }
 
         $participant->refresh();
 
-        $session->load(['participants' => fn ($q) => $q->whereIn('status', ['joined', 'waiting'])]);
+        $shared = $this->sharedPollPayload($session);
+        $media = $this->sessions->mediaSessionState($participant);
 
-        $avatars = ParticipantPresenter::avatarMap($session->participants, $session->room->host_user_ref);
+        $etag = '"'.md5(($shared['_etag'] ?? '').'|'.$participant->id.'|'.json_encode($media)).'"';
 
-        $messages = $this->chat->recentMessages($session, 50);
-        $reactions = $session->reactions()->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subMinutes(5))->latest()->limit(20)->get();
-        $qa = app(\App\Services\Meet\QaService::class)->forSession($session, true);
-        $polls = $session->polls()->where('status', 'open')->with('votes')->get();
-        $breakouts = $session->breakoutRooms()->where('status', 'open')->get();
-        $broadcasts = $session->messages()->where('type', 'breakout_broadcast')->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subMinutes(30))->latest()->limit(5)->get();
-        $files = $session->sessionFiles()
-            ->where(function ($q) {
-                $q->whereNull('expires_at')->orWhere('expires_at', '>', now());
-            })
-            ->latest()
-            ->limit(20)
-            ->get();
+        if ($request->headers->get('If-None-Match') === $etag) {
+            return response('', 304)->withHeaders([
+                'ETag' => $etag,
+                'Cache-Control' => 'private, no-cache',
+            ]);
+        }
 
-        return response()->json(array_merge([
-            'participants' => $session->participants->map(
-                fn ($p) => ParticipantPresenter::toArray($p, $avatars, $session->room->host_user_ref)
-            ),
-            'waiting_count' => $session->participants->where('status', 'waiting')->count(),
-            'messages' => $messages->map(fn ($m) => [
-                'uuid' => $m->uuid,
-                'sender_name' => $m->sender_name,
-                'body' => $m->body,
-                'type' => $m->type,
-                'created_at' => $m->created_at->toIso8601String(),
-            ]),
-            'reactions' => $reactions->map(fn ($r) => [
-                'sender_name' => $r->sender_name,
-                'emoji' => $r->emoji,
-                'created_at' => $r->created_at->toIso8601String(),
-            ]),
-            'qa' => $qa->map(fn ($q) => [
-                'uuid' => $q->uuid,
-                'asker_name' => $q->asker_name,
-                'question' => $q->question,
-                'status' => $q->status,
-                'answer' => $q->answer,
-                'upvotes' => $q->upvotes,
-            ]),
-            'polls' => $polls->map(fn ($p) => [
-                'uuid' => $p->uuid,
-                'question' => $p->question,
-                'options' => $p->options,
-                'votes' => $p->votes->count(),
-            ]),
-            'breakouts' => $breakouts->map(fn ($b) => [
-                'uuid' => $b->uuid,
-                'name' => $b->name,
-                'closes_at' => $b->closes_at?->toIso8601String(),
-            ]),
-            'broadcasts' => $broadcasts->map(fn ($m) => [
-                'body' => $m->body,
-                'sender_name' => $m->sender_name,
-                'created_at' => $m->created_at->toIso8601String(),
-            ]),
-            'files' => $files->map(fn ($f) => [
-                'uuid' => $f->uuid,
-                'original_name' => $f->original_name,
-                'file_size' => $f->file_size,
-            ]),
-            'media' => $this->sessions->mediaSessionState($participant),
-            'breakouts_active' => app(BreakoutService::class)->hasActiveBreakouts($session),
-        ], app(StageLayoutService::class)->config($session->room)));
+        unset($shared['_etag']);
+
+        return response()
+            ->json(array_merge($shared, ['media' => $media]))
+            ->withHeaders([
+                'ETag' => $etag,
+                'Cache-Control' => 'private, no-cache',
+            ]);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Session-wide poll fields shared by every participant (2s TTL).
+     *
+     * @return array<string, mixed>
+     */
+    protected function sharedPollPayload(Session $session): array
+    {
+        $cacheKey = "meet:poll:shared:{$session->id}";
+
+        return Cache::remember($cacheKey, 2, function () use ($session) {
+            // Ensure room relation is available without re-querying when already loaded.
+            $session->loadMissing('room');
+            $session->load(['participants' => fn ($q) => $q->whereIn('status', ['joined', 'waiting'])]);
+
+            $hostRef = $session->room->host_user_ref;
+            $avatars = ParticipantPresenter::avatarMap($session->participants, $hostRef);
+
+            $messages = $this->chat->recentMessages($session, 30);
+            $reactions = $session->reactions()
+                ->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subMinutes(2))
+                ->latest()
+                ->limit(15)
+                ->get();
+            $qa = app(\App\Services\Meet\QaService::class)->forSession($session, true);
+            $polls = $session->polls()->where('status', 'open')->with('votes')->get();
+            $breakouts = $session->breakoutRooms()->where('status', 'open')->get();
+            $broadcasts = $session->messages()
+                ->where('type', 'breakout_broadcast')
+                ->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subMinutes(30))
+                ->latest()
+                ->limit(5)
+                ->get();
+            $files = $session->sessionFiles()
+                ->where(function ($q) {
+                    $q->whereNull('expires_at')->orWhere('expires_at', '>', now());
+                })
+                ->latest()
+                ->limit(20)
+                ->get();
+
+            $payload = array_merge([
+                'participants' => $session->participants->map(
+                    fn ($p) => ParticipantPresenter::toArray($p, $avatars, $hostRef)
+                )->values()->all(),
+                'waiting_count' => $session->participants->where('status', 'waiting')->count(),
+                'messages' => $messages->map(fn ($m) => [
+                    'uuid' => $m->uuid,
+                    'sender_name' => $m->sender_name,
+                    'body' => $m->body,
+                    'type' => $m->type,
+                    'created_at' => $m->created_at->toIso8601String(),
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'reactions' => $reactions->map(fn ($r) => [
+                    'sender_name' => $r->sender_name,
+                    'emoji' => $r->emoji,
+                    'created_at' => $r->created_at->toIso8601String(),
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'qa' => $qa->map(fn ($q) => [
+                    'uuid' => $q->uuid,
+                    'asker_name' => $q->asker_name,
+                    'question' => $q->question,
+                    'status' => $q->status,
+                    'answer' => $q->answer,
+                    'upvotes' => $q->upvotes,
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'polls' => $polls->map(fn ($p) => [
+                    'uuid' => $p->uuid,
+                    'question' => $p->question,
+                    'options' => $p->options,
+                    'votes' => $p->votes->count(),
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'breakouts' => $breakouts->map(fn ($b) => [
+                    'uuid' => $b->uuid,
+                    'name' => $b->name,
+                    'closes_at' => $b->closes_at?->toIso8601String(),
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'broadcasts' => $broadcasts->map(fn ($m) => [
+                    'body' => $m->body,
+                    'sender_name' => $m->sender_name,
+                    'created_at' => $m->created_at->toIso8601String(),
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'files' => $files->map(fn ($f) => [
+                    'uuid' => $f->uuid,
+                    'original_name' => $f->original_name,
+                    'file_size' => $f->file_size,
+                ])->values()->all(),
+                'breakouts_active' => $breakouts->isNotEmpty(),
+            ], app(StageLayoutService::class)->config($session->room));
+
+            $payload['_etag'] = md5(json_encode($payload));
+
+            return $payload;
+        });
     }
 
     public function mediaToken(Request $request, Session $session): JsonResponse
diff --git a/resources/js/meet-public.js b/resources/js/meet-public.js
index 73e1eb5..6ea85bd 100644
--- a/resources/js/meet-public.js
+++ b/resources/js/meet-public.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Alpine.data('waitingRoom', () => ({
     pollTimer: null,
 
     init() {
-        this.pollTimer = setInterval(() => this.poll(), 2500);
+        this.pollTimer = setInterval(() => this.poll(), 5000);
         this.poll();
     },
 
diff --git a/resources/js/meet-room.js b/resources/js/meet-room.js
index 59acdd7..9b4eb85 100644
--- a/resources/js/meet-room.js
+++ b/resources/js/meet-room.js
@@ -180,6 +180,11 @@ function meetRoom() {
         pictureInPictureActive: false,
         pictureInPictureSupported: false,
         pollTimer: null,
+        pollInFlight: false,
+        pollEtag: null,
+        pollIntervalMs: 6000,
+        pollHiddenIntervalMs: 20000,
+        _lastCaptionSentAt: 0,
         config: {},
 
         init() {
@@ -308,7 +313,7 @@ function meetRoom() {
                 this.connectionStatus = 'Video unavailable — configure LiveKit';
             }
 
-            this.pollTimer = setInterval(() => this.poll(), 3000);
+            this.startPolling();
             this.applyStageLayout();
 
             this.$nextTick(() => {
@@ -319,6 +324,34 @@ function meetRoom() {
             this.setupPictureInPicture();
         },
 
+        currentPollInterval() {
+            if (typeof document !== 'undefined' && document.visibilityState === 'hidden') {
+                return this.pollHiddenIntervalMs;
+            }
+
+            return this.pollIntervalMs;
+        },
+
+        startPolling() {
+            if (this.pollTimer) {
+                clearInterval(this.pollTimer);
+                this.pollTimer = null;
+            }
+
+            this.poll();
+            this.pollTimer = setInterval(() => this.poll(), this.currentPollInterval());
+
+            if (typeof document !== 'undefined' && !this._pollVisibilityBound) {
+                this._pollVisibilityBound = true;
+                document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', () => {
+                    if (this.goingLive) {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    this.startPolling();
+                });
+            }
+        },
+
         connectionErrorMessage(error) {
             const name = error?.name || '';
             const message = error?.message || '';
@@ -1739,13 +1772,20 @@ function meetRoom() {
                 return;
             }
 
+            this.captionText = normalized;
+
             if (normalized === this._lastCaptionSent) {
-                this.captionText = normalized;
+                return;
+            }
+
+            // Throttle caption posts — speech recognition fires very frequently.
+            const now = Date.now();
+            if (now - (this._lastCaptionSentAt || 0) < 2000) {
                 return;
             }
 
             this._lastCaptionSent = normalized;
-            this.captionText = normalized;
+            this._lastCaptionSentAt = now;
 
             fetch(this.config.captionUrl, {
                 method: 'POST',
@@ -3079,7 +3119,7 @@ function meetRoom() {
                 window.location.replace(data.room_url || `/room/${data.session_uuid}`);
             } catch {
                 this.goingLive = false;
-                this.pollTimer = setInterval(() => this.poll(), 3000);
+                this.startPolling();
             }
         },
 
@@ -3201,8 +3241,29 @@ function meetRoom() {
         },
 
         async poll() {
+            if (this.pollInFlight || !this.config.pollUrl) {
+                return;
+            }
+
+            this.pollInFlight = true;
+
             try {
-                const res = await fetch(this.config.pollUrl, { headers: { Accept: 'application/json' } });
+                const headers = { Accept: 'application/json' };
+                if (this.pollEtag) {
+                    headers['If-None-Match'] = this.pollEtag;
+                }
+
+                const res = await fetch(this.config.pollUrl, { headers, credentials: 'same-origin' });
+
+                const responseEtag = res.headers.get('ETag');
+                if (responseEtag) {
+                    this.pollEtag = responseEtag;
+                }
+
+                if (res.status === 304) {
+                    return;
+                }
+
                 if (!res.ok) {
                     if (res.status === 404 && this.config.endedUrl) {
                         this.redirectToMeetingEnded(this.config.endedUrl);
@@ -3253,6 +3314,8 @@ function meetRoom() {
                 this.processReactionsFromPoll(data.reactions || []);
             } catch (e) {
                 // ignore poll errors
+            } finally {
+                this.pollInFlight = false;
             }
         },