diff --git a/api/.env.example b/api/.env.example
index 8bd2c706c1..dec002cadc 100644
--- a/api/.env.example
+++ b/api/.env.example
@@ -715,5 +715,6 @@ ANNOTATION_IMPORT_MAX_CONCURRENT=5
 # Sandbox expired records clean configuration
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_GRACEFUL_PERIOD=21
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_SIZE=1000
+SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_MAX_INTERVAL=200
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_RETENTION_DAYS=30
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_TASK_LOCK_TTL=90000
diff --git a/api/configs/feature/__init__.py b/api/configs/feature/__init__.py
index d97e9a0440..d064cfa2d9 100644
--- a/api/configs/feature/__init__.py
+++ b/api/configs/feature/__init__.py
@@ -1309,6 +1309,10 @@ class SandboxExpiredRecordsCleanConfig(BaseSettings):
         description="Maximum number of records to process in each batch",
         default=1000,
     )
+    SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_MAX_INTERVAL: PositiveInt = Field(
+        description="Maximum interval in milliseconds between batches",
+        default=200,
+    )
     SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_RETENTION_DAYS: PositiveInt = Field(
         description="Retention days for sandbox expired workflow_run records and message records",
         default=30,
diff --git a/api/services/retention/conversation/messages_clean_service.py b/api/services/retention/conversation/messages_clean_service.py
index d8b91234c9..93a3cff93d 100644
--- a/api/services/retention/conversation/messages_clean_service.py
+++ b/api/services/retention/conversation/messages_clean_service.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import datetime
 import logging
+import os
 import random
 import time
 from collections.abc import Sequence
@@ -194,6 +195,8 @@ class MessagesCleanService:
             self._end_before,
         )
 
+        max_batch_interval_ms = int(os.environ.get("SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_MAX_INTERVAL", 200))
+
         while True:
             stats["batches"] += 1
             batch_start = time.monotonic()
@@ -319,6 +322,11 @@ class MessagesCleanService:
                         commit_ms,
                         int((time.monotonic() - batch_start) * 1000),
                     )
+
+                # Random sleep between batches to avoid overwhelming the database
+                sleep_ms = random.uniform(0, max_batch_interval_ms)  # noqa: S311
+                logger.info("clean_messages (batch %s): sleeping for %.2fms", stats["batches"], sleep_ms)
+                time.sleep(sleep_ms / 1000)
             else:
                 # Log random sample of message IDs that would be deleted (up to 10)
                 sample_size = min(10, len(message_ids_to_delete))
diff --git a/docker/.env.example b/docker/.env.example
index 41a0205bf5..3015c91aed 100644
--- a/docker/.env.example
+++ b/docker/.env.example
@@ -1518,5 +1518,6 @@ AMPLITUDE_API_KEY=
 # Sandbox expired records clean configuration
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_GRACEFUL_PERIOD=21
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_SIZE=1000
+SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_MAX_INTERVAL=200
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_RETENTION_DAYS=30
 SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_TASK_LOCK_TTL=90000
diff --git a/docker/docker-compose.yaml b/docker/docker-compose.yaml
index 1886f848e0..9c62c09573 100644
--- a/docker/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -682,6 +682,7 @@ x-shared-env: &shared-api-worker-env
   AMPLITUDE_API_KEY: ${AMPLITUDE_API_KEY:-}
   SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_GRACEFUL_PERIOD: ${SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_GRACEFUL_PERIOD:-21}
   SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_SIZE: ${SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_SIZE:-1000}
+  SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_MAX_INTERVAL: ${SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_BATCH_MAX_INTERVAL:-200}
   SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_RETENTION_DAYS: ${SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_RETENTION_DAYS:-30}
   SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_TASK_LOCK_TTL: ${SANDBOX_EXPIRED_RECORDS_CLEAN_TASK_LOCK_TTL:-90000}