Database prevent dead connection errors and make login work on the first try

database.py

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from sqlalchemy import create_engine
 from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
+from sqlalchemy.pool import QueuePool
 import os
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -10,7 +11,21 @@ load_dotenv(ROOT_DIR / '.env')
 
 DATABASE_URL = os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL', 'postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/membership_db')
 
-engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL)
+# Configure engine with connection pooling and connection health checks
+engine = create_engine(
+    DATABASE_URL,
+    poolclass=QueuePool,
+    pool_size=5,              # Keep 5 connections open
+    max_overflow=10,          # Allow up to 10 extra connections during peak
+    pool_pre_ping=True,       # CRITICAL: Test connections before using them
+    pool_recycle=3600,        # Recycle connections every hour (prevents stale connections)
+    echo=False,               # Set to True for SQL debugging
+    connect_args={
+        'connect_timeout': 10,  # Timeout connection attempts after 10 seconds
+        'options': '-c statement_timeout=30000'  # 30 second query timeout
+    }
+)
+
 SessionLocal = sessionmaker(autocommit=False, autoflush=False, bind=engine)
 
 Base = declarative_base()