diff --git a/vterm/commands.py b/vterm/commands.py
index 17eba9f..80bd56b 100644
--- a/vterm/commands.py
+++ b/vterm/commands.py
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ class VtermClearScreenCommand(sublime_plugin.TextCommand):
             return
         # the renderer thread owns the screen; it applies this on its next tick
         terminal.pending_clear_screen = True
+        terminal.wake()
         self.view.run_command("vterm_clear_undo_stack")
 
     def is_enabled(self):
diff --git a/vterm/listeners.py b/vterm/listeners.py
index 4287620..e6acffe 100644
--- a/vterm/listeners.py
+++ b/vterm/listeners.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ class VtermCoreEventListener(sublime_plugin.EventListener):
             # background — via the renderer tick: a render here would race the
             # renderer thread, which owns the emulator
             terminal.pending_render = True
+            terminal.wake()
             view.run_command("vterm_show_cursor", {"scroll": False})
         elif view.settings().get("vterm_view") and not view.settings().get("vterm_view.finished"):
             # the plugin host restarted; this tab's terminal is unreachable
diff --git a/vterm/terminal.py b/vterm/terminal.py
index c80c9f5..76b6c4a 100644
--- a/vterm/terminal.py
+++ b/vterm/terminal.py
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ FEED_LIMIT = 256 * 1024
 # SUPPRESS_HISTORY_AFTER_CLEAR in emulator.py must outlast this
 REPAINT_NUDGE_DELAY = 0.25
 
+# extra wait once a tick finds nothing pending, on top of RENDER_PERIOD.
+IDLE_TICK = 0.2
+
 
 def view_size(view, default=None):
     """Terminal (rows, columns) that fit the view's viewport."""
@@ -116,6 +119,12 @@ class Terminal:
         self.pending_render = False
         # a UTF-8 sequence split across read chunks must not be dropped
         self._decoder = codecs.getincrementaldecoder("utf-8")("replace")
+        # set by the reader (and the UI thread) to end the renderer's idle park
+        self._wake = threading.Event()
+
+    def wake(self):
+        """Cut short the renderer's idle wait, for a flag set from another thread"""
+        self._wake.set()
 
     @classmethod
     def from_id(cls, vid):
@@ -203,6 +212,7 @@ class Terminal:
         """Terminate the child and drop this terminal from the registry."""
         LOG.debug("[kill] terminating process")
         self.alive = False
+        self._wake.set()
         scheme_manager.remove_listener(self.apply_scheme)
         try:
             self.process.terminate()
@@ -254,11 +264,13 @@ class Terminal:
                 except EOFError:
                     break
                 chunks.append(self._decoder.decode(raw))
+                self._wake.set()
                 if done[0] or not self.is_hosted():
                     LOG.debug("[reader] stops")
                     break
             self.alive = False
             done[0] = True
+            self._wake.set()
 
         def feed_data():
             """Parse up to FEED_LIMIT of pending output into the screen."""
@@ -280,9 +292,10 @@ class Terminal:
             """Own the emulator: parse, then ask sublime to redraw, once per tick."""
             while True:
                 # a hidden tab is not drawn at all: the screen keeps the state
-                # and one render on unhide catches the view up. The tick stays at
-                # full rate either way, or the parser would fall behind the pty
+                # and one render on unhide catches the view up.
                 visible = self.is_visible()
+
+                self._wake.clear()
                 with intermission(period=RENDER_PERIOD):
                     feed_data()
                     if self.screen.in_sync_frame():
@@ -300,6 +313,16 @@ class Terminal:
                         LOG.debug("[renderer] stops")
                         break
 
+                # nothing left to do: park until woken, instead of spinning at
+                # RENDER_PERIOD. A sync frame or a teardown skipped this by
+                # leaving the block above, and keeps its own cadence.
+                # dirty rows only count while visible: nothing clears them for a
+                # hidden tab, and on_activated wakes us with pending_render
+                if not (
+                    chunks or self.pending_render or self.pending_clear or self.pending_clear_screen or (visible and self.screen.dirty)
+                ):
+                    self._wake.wait(IDLE_TICK)
+
             while chunks:
                 feed_data()
             done[0] = True