diff --git a/defaults/main.yml b/defaults/main.yml
index e373eae4..a90a81c5 100644
--- a/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/defaults/main.yml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ galera_max_heap_table_size: 32M
 galera_tmp_table_size: 32M
 
 galera_file_limits: 65535
-galera_wait_timeout: 28800
+galera_wait_timeout: 3600
 
 ## innodb options
 galera_innodb_buffer_pool_size: 4096M
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/decrease-mariadb-waittimeout-setting-ddaae0f2e1d31ee1.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/decrease-mariadb-waittimeout-setting-ddaae0f2e1d31ee1.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..aac2fe49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/decrease-mariadb-waittimeout-setting-ddaae0f2e1d31ee1.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+upgrade:
+   - The MariaDB wait_timeout setting is decreased to 1h to match the
+     SQL Alchemy pool recycle timeout, in order to prevent unnecessary
+     database session buildups.