diff --git a/knowledge_repo/app/index.py b/knowledge_repo/app/index.py
index 43da1afc4..9dafed1d3 100644
--- a/knowledge_repo/app/index.py
+++ b/knowledge_repo/app/index.py
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 LOCKED = CHECKED = '1'
 UNLOCKED = '0'
 
+sync_lock = multiprocessing.Lock()
+
 
 def set_up_indexing_timers(app):
     if not app.config['INDEXING_ENABLED']:
@@ -39,9 +41,12 @@ def index_watchdog(app):
         def index_sync_loop(app):
             current_app.db.engine.dispose()
             while True:
-                with app.app_context():
-                    update_index(check_timeouts=False)
-                time.sleep(app.config['INDEXING_INTERVAL'])
+                sync_lock.acquire()
+                try:
+                    with app.app_context():
+                        update_index(check_timeouts=False)
+                finally:
+                    sync_lock.release()
 
         app.index_watchdog = multiprocessing.Process(target=index_watchdog, args=(app,))
         app.index_watchdog.start()