diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/channel/mpsc.rs b/lib/runtime/src/channel/mpsc.rs
index f47273d..d6a2e08 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/channel/mpsc.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/channel/mpsc.rs
@@ -93,6 +93,31 @@ pub enum TryRecvError {
     Disconnected,
 }
 
+/// A wakeup deferred until the channel mutex has been released.
+///
+/// Waking a waiter while holding the channel lock can be expensive (cross-thread
+/// wakeups go through the io_uring ring notification path) and risks priority
+/// inversion.  All `State` methods collect these instead of calling
+/// `CompletionHandle::complete` directly; the caller fires them after dropping
+/// the `MutexGuard`.
+enum PendingCompletion<T: Send + 'static> {
+    RecvSome(CompletionHandle<Option<T>>, T),
+    RecvNone(CompletionHandle<Option<T>>),
+    SendOk(CompletionHandle<Result<(), SendError<T>>>),
+    SendErr(CompletionHandle<Result<(), SendError<T>>>, T),
+}
+
+fn fire_completions<T: Send + 'static>(completions: Vec<PendingCompletion<T>>) {
+    for c in completions {
+        match c {
+            PendingCompletion::RecvSome(h, v) => h.complete(Some(v)),
+            PendingCompletion::RecvNone(h) => h.complete(None),
+            PendingCompletion::SendOk(h) => h.complete(Ok(())),
+            PendingCompletion::SendErr(h, v) => h.complete(Err(SendError(v))),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl<T: Send + 'static> State<T> {
     fn new(capacity: Option<usize>) -> Self {
         Self {
@@ -106,13 +131,17 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> State<T> {
         }
     }
 
-    fn try_send_now(&mut self, value: T) -> Result<(), TrySendError<T>> {
+    fn try_send_now(
+        &mut self,
+        value: T,
+        completions: &mut Vec<PendingCompletion<T>>,
+    ) -> Result<(), TrySendError<T>> {
         if self.receiver_closed {
             return Err(TrySendError::Closed(value));
         }
 
         if let Some(waiter) = self.recv_waiter.take() {
-            waiter.complete(Some(value));
+            completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvSome(waiter, value));
             return Ok(());
         }
 
@@ -151,10 +180,10 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> State<T> {
         true
     }
 
-    fn pump_senders(&mut self) {
+    fn pump_senders(&mut self, completions: &mut Vec<PendingCompletion<T>>) {
         loop {
             if self.receiver_closed {
-                self.fail_pending_senders();
+                self.fail_pending_senders(completions);
                 break;
             }
 
@@ -170,44 +199,47 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> State<T> {
             };
 
             if let Some(receiver) = self.recv_waiter.take() {
-                receiver.complete(Some(waiter.value));
+                completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvSome(receiver, waiter.value));
             } else {
                 self.queue.push_back(waiter.value);
             }
-            waiter.handle.complete(Ok(()));
+            completions.push(PendingCompletion::SendOk(waiter.handle));
         }
 
         if self.queue.is_empty()
             && self.sender_count == 0
             && let Some(waiter) = self.recv_waiter.take()
         {
-            waiter.complete(None);
+            completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvNone(waiter));
         }
     }
 
-    fn fail_pending_senders(&mut self) {
+    fn fail_pending_senders(&mut self, completions: &mut Vec<PendingCompletion<T>>) {
         while let Some(waiter) = self.send_waiters.pop_front() {
-            waiter.handle.complete(Err(SendError(waiter.value)));
+            completions.push(PendingCompletion::SendErr(waiter.handle, waiter.value));
         }
     }
 
-    fn close_receiver(&mut self) {
+    fn close_receiver(&mut self, completions: &mut Vec<PendingCompletion<T>>) {
         self.receiver_closed = true;
-        self.fail_pending_senders();
+        self.fail_pending_senders(completions);
         if self.queue.is_empty()
             && let Some(waiter) = self.recv_waiter.take()
         {
-            waiter.complete(None);
+            completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvNone(waiter));
         }
     }
 
-    fn drop_sender(&mut self) {
-        self.sender_count = self.sender_count.saturating_sub(1);
+    fn drop_sender(&mut self, completions: &mut Vec<PendingCompletion<T>>) {
+        self.sender_count = self
+            .sender_count
+            .checked_sub(1)
+            .expect("sender count underflow: more drops than creates");
         if self.sender_count == 0
             && self.queue.is_empty()
             && let Some(waiter) = self.recv_waiter.take()
         {
-            waiter.complete(None);
+            completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvNone(waiter));
         }
     }
 }
@@ -252,10 +284,16 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Sender<T> {
 
     /// Attempts to queue a message immediately.
     pub fn try_send(&self, value: T) -> Result<(), TrySendError<T>> {
-        self.shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned")
-            .try_send_now(value)
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        let result = {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            state.try_send_now(value, &mut completions)
+        };
+        fire_completions(completions);
+        result
     }
 
     /// Returns `true` if the receiver has been closed or dropped.
@@ -281,22 +319,30 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Sender<T> {
                 Poll::Pending => Poll::Pending,
             }
         } else {
-            let mut state = self
-                .shared
-                .lock()
-                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
-            match state.try_send_now(value_slot.take().expect("send value should be present")) {
+            let mut completions = Vec::new();
+            let first_result = {
+                let mut state = self
+                    .shared
+                    .lock()
+                    .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+                state.try_send_now(
+                    value_slot.take().expect("send value should be present"),
+                    &mut completions,
+                )
+            };
+            fire_completions(completions);
+            match first_result {
                 Ok(()) => Poll::Ready(Ok(())),
                 Err(TrySendError::Closed(value)) => Poll::Ready(Err(SendError(value))),
                 Err(TrySendError::Full(returned)) => {
-                    drop(state);
                     let (future, handle) = runtime_waiter::<Result<(), SendError<T>>>();
                     let state_shared = Arc::clone(&self.shared);
+                    let mut completions = Vec::new();
                     let registration = {
                         let mut state = state_shared
                             .lock()
                             .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
-                        match state.try_send_now(returned) {
+                        match state.try_send_now(returned, &mut completions) {
                             Ok(()) => Ok(None),
                             Err(TrySendError::Closed(value)) => Err(SendError(value)),
                             Err(TrySendError::Full(value)) => {
@@ -304,6 +350,7 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Sender<T> {
                             }
                         }
                     };
+                    fire_completions(completions);
                     match registration {
                         Ok(None) => {
                             handle.complete(Ok(()));
@@ -339,13 +386,18 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Sender<T> {
 impl<T: Send + 'static> UnboundedSender<T> {
     /// Queues a message immediately.
     pub fn send(&self, value: T) -> Result<(), SendError<T>> {
-        self.shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned")
-            .try_send_now(value)
-            .map_err(|error| match error {
-                TrySendError::Full(value) | TrySendError::Closed(value) => SendError(value),
-            })
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        let result = {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            state.try_send_now(value, &mut completions)
+        };
+        fire_completions(completions);
+        result.map_err(|error| match error {
+            TrySendError::Full(value) | TrySendError::Closed(value) => SendError(value),
+        })
     }
 
     /// Returns `true` if the receiver has been closed or dropped.
@@ -372,18 +424,23 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Receiver<T> {
 
     /// Attempts to receive a message immediately.
     pub fn try_recv(&mut self) -> Result<T, TryRecvError> {
-        let mut state = self
-            .shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
-        if let Some(value) = state.queue.pop_front() {
-            state.pump_senders();
-            Ok(value)
-        } else if state.sender_count == 0 || state.receiver_closed {
-            Err(TryRecvError::Disconnected)
-        } else {
-            Err(TryRecvError::Empty)
-        }
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        let result = {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            if let Some(value) = state.queue.pop_front() {
+                state.pump_senders(&mut completions);
+                Ok(value)
+            } else if state.sender_count == 0 || state.receiver_closed {
+                Err(TryRecvError::Disconnected)
+            } else {
+                Err(TryRecvError::Empty)
+            }
+        };
+        fire_completions(completions);
+        result
     }
 
     /// Closes the channel to future sends.
@@ -391,10 +448,15 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Receiver<T> {
     /// Already-buffered messages remain available to [`recv`](Self::recv) and
     /// [`try_recv`](Self::try_recv).
     pub fn close(&mut self) {
-        self.shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned")
-            .close_receiver();
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            state.close_receiver(&mut completions);
+        }
+        fire_completions(completions);
     }
 
     /// Returns `true` if the channel is closed or all senders have been dropped.
@@ -432,16 +494,17 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Receiver<T> {
                 cancel_handle.finish(None);
             });
 
+            let mut completions = Vec::new();
             {
                 let mut state = self
                     .shared
                     .lock()
                     .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
                 if let Some(value) = state.queue.pop_front() {
-                    state.pump_senders();
-                    handle.complete(Some(value));
+                    state.pump_senders(&mut completions);
+                    completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvSome(handle.clone(), value));
                 } else if state.receiver_closed || state.sender_count == 0 {
-                    handle.complete(None);
+                    completions.push(PendingCompletion::RecvNone(handle.clone()));
                 } else {
                     assert!(
                         state.recv_waiter.is_none(),
@@ -450,6 +513,7 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Receiver<T> {
                     state.recv_waiter = Some(handle.clone());
                 }
             }
+            fire_completions(completions);
 
             *wait = Some(future);
             self.poll_recv(cx, wait)
@@ -459,28 +523,43 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> Receiver<T> {
 
 impl<T: Send + 'static> Drop for Sender<T> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        self.shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned")
-            .drop_sender();
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            state.drop_sender(&mut completions);
+        }
+        fire_completions(completions);
     }
 }
 
 impl<T: Send + 'static> Drop for UnboundedSender<T> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        self.shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned")
-            .drop_sender();
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            state.drop_sender(&mut completions);
+        }
+        fire_completions(completions);
     }
 }
 
 impl<T: Send + 'static> Drop for Receiver<T> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        self.shared
-            .lock()
-            .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned")
-            .close_receiver();
+        let mut completions = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let mut state = self
+                .shared
+                .lock()
+                .expect("mpsc state should not be poisoned");
+            state.close_receiver(&mut completions);
+        }
+        fire_completions(completions);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/platform/linux_x86_64/runtime.rs b/lib/runtime/src/platform/linux_x86_64/runtime.rs
index c055656..039a4b5 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/platform/linux_x86_64/runtime.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/platform/linux_x86_64/runtime.rs
@@ -206,25 +206,47 @@ where
 {
     let owner = current_thread_ptr();
     let id = allocate_timer_id();
-    let deadline = deadline_from_now(delay);
+
     #[cfg(debug_assertions)]
     tracing::trace!(
         target: trace_targets::TIMER,
         event = "set_interval",
         timer_id = id,
         delay_ns = delay.as_nanos() as u64,
-        deadline_ns = deadline.as_nanos() as u64,
         "scheduling interval"
     );
-    let timer = TimerNode::interval(
-        id,
-        deadline,
-        delay,
-        Rc::new(RefCell::new(Box::new(callback))),
-    );
 
-    current_thread().timers.borrow_mut().insert(timer);
-    rearm_thread_timer();
+    if delay.is_zero() {
+        // Zero-delay intervals never touch the timer heap or arm an io_uring
+        // timer (a past-deadline kernel timer would fire on every event loop
+        // iteration, spinning the runtime at 100 % CPU).  Instead the callback
+        // is stored in `immediate_intervals` and self-schedules as a macrotask
+        // each turn, mirroring JS `setInterval(f, 0)` semantics.
+        let callback = Rc::new(RefCell::new(Box::new(callback) as Box<dyn FnMut()>));
+        current_thread()
+            .immediate_intervals
+            .borrow_mut()
+            .insert(id, Rc::clone(&callback));
+        schedule_immediate_interval(owner, id);
+    } else {
+        let deadline = deadline_from_now(delay);
+        #[cfg(debug_assertions)]
+        tracing::trace!(
+            target: trace_targets::TIMER,
+            event = "set_interval_deadline",
+            timer_id = id,
+            deadline_ns = deadline.as_nanos() as u64,
+            "interval deadline computed"
+        );
+        let timer = TimerNode::interval(
+            id,
+            deadline,
+            delay,
+            Rc::new(RefCell::new(Box::new(callback))),
+        );
+        current_thread().timers.borrow_mut().insert(timer);
+        rearm_thread_timer();
+    }
 
     IntervalHandle {
         id,
@@ -556,6 +578,9 @@ struct ThreadState {
     local_microtasks: RefCell<VecDeque<LocalTask>>,
     local_macrotasks: RefCell<VecDeque<MacroTask>>,
     timers: RefCell<TimerHeap>,
+    /// Zero-delay intervals bypasses the timer heap entirely. Each entry
+    /// re-enqueues itself as a macrotask on every turn.
+    immediate_intervals: RefCell<HashMap<usize, Rc<RefCell<Box<dyn FnMut()>>>>>,
     next_timer_id: Cell<usize>,
     children: RefCell<Vec<ChildWorker>>,
 }
@@ -573,6 +598,7 @@ impl ThreadState {
             local_microtasks: RefCell::new(VecDeque::new()),
             local_macrotasks: RefCell::new(VecDeque::new()),
             timers: RefCell::new(TimerHeap::new()),
+            immediate_intervals: RefCell::new(HashMap::new()),
             next_timer_id: Cell::new(1),
             children: RefCell::new(Vec::new()),
         }
@@ -1109,7 +1135,8 @@ fn has_ready_work() -> bool {
 }
 
 fn has_pending_timers() -> bool {
-    !current_thread().timers.borrow().is_empty()
+    let state = current_thread();
+    !state.timers.borrow().is_empty() || !state.immediate_intervals.borrow().is_empty()
 }
 
 fn allocate_timer_id() -> usize {
@@ -1126,11 +1153,37 @@ fn clear_timer(owner: *const ThreadState, id: usize) {
         "timer handles must be cleared on their originating thread"
     );
 
-    if current_thread().timers.borrow_mut().remove(id).is_some() {
+    let state = current_thread();
+    if state.timers.borrow_mut().remove(id).is_some() {
         rearm_thread_timer();
+    } else {
+        // May be a zero-delay immediate interval; removal is a no-op if absent.
+        state.immediate_intervals.borrow_mut().remove(&id);
     }
 }
 
+/// Enqueues one macrotask turn for a zero-delay interval.
+///
+/// The macrotask checks whether the interval is still live (not cleared), fires
+/// the callback, and re-enqueues itself for the next turn.
+fn schedule_immediate_interval(owner: *const ThreadState, id: usize) {
+    push_local_macrotask(Box::new(move || {
+        let callback = current_thread()
+            .immediate_intervals
+            .borrow()
+            .get(&id)
+            .map(Rc::clone);
+        let Some(callback) = callback else {
+            return; // interval was cleared before this turn ran
+        };
+        (callback.borrow_mut())();
+        // Re-enqueue for the next turn if still live.
+        if current_thread().immediate_intervals.borrow().contains_key(&id) {
+            schedule_immediate_interval(owner, id);
+        }
+    }));
+}
+
 fn dispatch_expired_timers() {
     let now = deadline_from_now(Duration::ZERO);
     let due = current_thread().timers.borrow_mut().pop_due(now);
@@ -1333,4 +1386,30 @@ mod tests {
 
         assert_eq!(*observed.lock().unwrap(), Some(7));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn zero_interval_fires_once_per_turn_without_spinning() {
+        // set_interval(Duration::ZERO, ..) must not busy-spin the event loop.
+        // Each tick is one macrotask turn; we verify the count advances across
+        // turns by awaiting a sleep between checks.
+        let count = Rc::new(Cell::new(0usize));
+        let count_clone = Rc::clone(&count);
+        let handle_slot: Rc<RefCell<Option<super::IntervalHandle>>> =
+            Rc::new(RefCell::new(None));
+        let handle_slot_clone = Rc::clone(&handle_slot);
+
+        let handle = set_interval(Duration::ZERO, move || {
+            let next = count_clone.get() + 1;
+            count_clone.set(next);
+            if next == 5 {
+                let handle = handle_slot_clone.borrow_mut().take().unwrap();
+                clear_interval(&handle);
+            }
+        });
+        *handle_slot.borrow_mut() = Some(handle);
+
+        run();
+
+        assert_eq!(count.get(), 5);
+    }
 }