diff --git a/dictdatabase/locking.py b/dictdatabase/locking.py
index 069088a..74a3bb9 100644
--- a/dictdatabase/locking.py
+++ b/dictdatabase/locking.py
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@
 
 # Constants
 SLEEP_TIMEOUT = 0.001
-LOCK_TIMEOUT = 60.0  # Duration to wait before considering a lock as orphaned.
+LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT = 0.001
+REMOVE_ORPHAN_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 20.0  # Duration to wait before considering a lock as orphaned.
+AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 60.0
 
 
 def os_touch(path: str) -> None:
@@ -50,6 +52,9 @@ def __init__(self, ddb_dir: str, name: str, id: str, time_ns: str, stage: str, m
 		lock_file = f"{name}.{id}.{time_ns}.{stage}.{mode}.lock"
 		self.path = os.path.join(ddb_dir, lock_file)
 
+	def __repr__(self) -> str:
+		return f"LockFileMeta({self.ddb_dir=}, {self.name=}, {self.id=}, {self.time_ns=}, {self.stage=}, {self.mode=})"
+
 	def new_with_updated_time(self) -> LockFileMeta:
 		"""
 		Create a new instance with an updated timestamp.
@@ -91,7 +96,7 @@ def __init__(self, need_lock: LockFileMeta) -> None:
 			# Remove orphaned locks
 			if lock_meta.path != need_lock.path:
 				lock_age = time.time_ns() - int(lock_meta.time_ns)
-				if lock_age > LOCK_TIMEOUT * 1_000_000_000:
+				if lock_age > REMOVE_ORPHAN_LOCK_TIMEOUT * 1_000_000_000:
 					os.unlink(lock_meta.path)
 					print(f"Removed orphaned lock ({lock_meta.path})")
 					continue
@@ -129,13 +134,15 @@ class AbstractLock:
 	provides a blueprint for derived classes to implement.
 	"""
 
-	__slots__ = ("db_name", "need_lock", "has_lock", "snapshot", "mode")
+	__slots__ = ("db_name", "need_lock", "has_lock", "snapshot", "mode", "is_alive" "keep_alive_thread")
 
 	db_name: str
 	need_lock: LockFileMeta
 	has_lock: LockFileMeta
 	snapshot: FileLocksSnapshot
 	mode: str
+	is_alive: bool
+	keep_alive_thread: threading.Thread
 
 	def __init__(self, db_name: str) -> None:
 		# Normalize db_name to avoid file naming conflicts
@@ -147,16 +154,53 @@ def __init__(self, db_name: str) -> None:
 		self.need_lock = LockFileMeta(dir, self.db_name, t_id, time_ns, "need", self.mode)
 		self.has_lock = LockFileMeta(dir, self.db_name, t_id, time_ns, "has", self.mode)
 
+		self.is_alive = False
+		self.keep_alive_thread = None
+
 		# Ensure lock directory exists
 		if not os.path.isdir(dir):
 			os.makedirs(dir, exist_ok=True)
 
+	def _keep_alive_thread(self) -> None:
+		"""
+		Keep the lock alive by updating the timestamp of the lock file.
+		"""
+		time.sleep(LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT)
+		while self.is_alive:
+			new_has_lock = self.has_lock.new_with_updated_time()
+			os_touch(new_has_lock.path)
+			old_has_lock_path = self.has_lock.path
+			self.has_lock = new_has_lock
+			try:
+				os.unlink(old_has_lock_path)
+			except FileNotFoundError:
+				pass
+			time.sleep(LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT)
+
+	def _start_keep_alive_thread(self) -> None:
+		"""
+		Start a thread that keeps the lock alive by updating the timestamp of the lock file.
+		"""
+
+		if self.keep_alive_thread is not None:
+			raise RuntimeError("Keep alive thread already exists.")
+
+		self.is_alive = True
+		self.keep_alive_thread = threading.Thread(target=self._keep_alive_thread, daemon=False)
+		self.keep_alive_thread.start()
+
 	def _lock(self) -> None:
 		"""Override this method to implement locking mechanism."""
 		raise NotImplementedError
 
 	def _unlock(self) -> None:
 		"""Remove the lock files associated with this lock."""
+
+		if self.keep_alive_thread is not None:
+			self.is_alive = False
+			self.keep_alive_thread.join()
+			self.keep_alive_thread = None
+
 		for p in ("need_lock", "has_lock"):
 			try:
 				if lock := getattr(self, p, None):
@@ -202,9 +246,10 @@ def _lock(self) -> None:
 				self.has_lock = self.has_lock.new_with_updated_time()
 				os_touch(self.has_lock.path)
 				os.unlink(self.need_lock.path)
+				self._start_keep_alive_thread()
 				return
 			time.sleep(SLEEP_TIMEOUT)
-			if time.time() - start_time > LOCK_TIMEOUT:
+			if time.time() - start_time > AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT:
 				raise RuntimeError("Timeout while waiting for read lock.")
 			self.snapshot = FileLocksSnapshot(self.need_lock)
 
@@ -236,8 +281,9 @@ def _lock(self) -> None:
 				self.has_lock = self.has_lock.new_with_updated_time()
 				os_touch(self.has_lock.path)
 				os.unlink(self.need_lock.path)
+				self._start_keep_alive_thread()
 				return
 			time.sleep(SLEEP_TIMEOUT)
-			if time.time() - start_time > LOCK_TIMEOUT:
+			if time.time() - start_time > AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT:
 				raise RuntimeError("Timeout while waiting for write lock.")
 			self.snapshot = FileLocksSnapshot(self.need_lock)
diff --git a/tests/test_locking.py b/tests/test_locking.py
index dc3e013..17beca1 100644
--- a/tests/test_locking.py
+++ b/tests/test_locking.py
@@ -39,17 +39,26 @@ def test_get_lock_names(use_compression):
 
 
 def test_remove_orphaned_locks():
-	prev_config = locking.LOCK_TIMEOUT
-	locking.LOCK_TIMEOUT = 0.1
+	# SLEEP_TIMEOUT = 0.001
+	# LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT = 0.001
+	# REMOVE_ORPHAN_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 20.0  # Duration to wait before considering a lock as orphaned.
+	# AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 60.0
+
+	prev = locking.AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT, locking.LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT, locking.REMOVE_ORPHAN_LOCK_TIMEOUT
+
+	locking.AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 10.0
+	locking.LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT = 1.0
+	locking.REMOVE_ORPHAN_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 0.1
 	lock = locking.ReadLock("test_remove_orphaned_locks")
 	lock._lock()
 
 	ls = locking.FileLocksSnapshot(lock.need_lock)
-	assert len(ls.locks) == 1
+	assert len(ls.locks) >= 1  ## The one lock or two if currently in keep alive handover
 
 	time.sleep(0.2)
 	# Trigger the removal of orphaned locks
 	ls = locking.FileLocksSnapshot(lock.need_lock)
 
 	assert len(ls.locks) == 0
-	locking.LOCK_TIMEOUT = prev_config
+
+	locking.AQUIRE_LOCK_TIMEOUT, locking.LOCK_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT, locking.REMOVE_ORPHAN_LOCK_TIMEOUT = prev