diff --git a/src/app/state.rs b/src/app/state.rs
index 26c95f7..a34b57b 100644
--- a/src/app/state.rs
+++ b/src/app/state.rs
@@ -463,8 +463,37 @@ fn setup_hotkeys(shared_state: Arc<Mutex<SharedState>>) -> Option<GlobalHotKeyMa
         let _manager_ref = &manager_for_thread;
         println!("Hotkey manager reference maintained in thread");
 
+        // Create a channel to signal thread termination
+        let (exit_tx, exit_rx) = std::sync::mpsc::channel();
+
+        // Spawn a thread to monitor the running flag
+        let monitor_state = state_clone.clone();
+        thread::spawn(move || {
+            loop {
+                // Check if we should exit
+                if let Ok(state) = monitor_state.lock() {
+                    if !state.running {
+                        println!("Monitor thread detected running=false, signaling hotkey thread to exit");
+                        let _ = exit_tx.send(());
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                // Sleep briefly to avoid high CPU usage
+                std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Main event loop - efficiently wait for events using blocking recv()
         loop {
-            match event_receiver.try_recv() {
+            // Use std::sync::mpsc::TryRecv to check if we should exit without blocking
+            if exit_rx.try_recv().is_ok() {
+                println!("Hotkey listener received exit signal, terminating thread");
+                break;
+            }
+
+            // Use blocking recv() with a timeout to efficiently wait for events
+            // This avoids busy-waiting and reduces CPU usage to near 0% when idle
+            match event_receiver.recv_timeout(Duration::from_millis(500)) {
                 Ok(event) => {
                     println!("Received hotkey event: {:?}", event);
                     if event.state == HotKeyState::Pressed {
@@ -493,15 +522,8 @@ fn setup_hotkeys(shared_state: Arc<Mutex<SharedState>>) -> Option<GlobalHotKeyMa
                     }
                 },
                 Err(_) => {
-                    // No events or channel disconnected, sleep briefly
-                    std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(50));
-                }
-            }
-            // Check shared state running flag
-            if let Ok(state) = state_clone.lock() {
-                if !state.running {
-                    println!("Hotkey listener detected running=false, exiting thread.");
-                    break;
+                    // Timeout or channel disconnected, just continue the loop
+                    // No need to sleep as recv_timeout already waited
                 }
             }
         }