diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index f3f3fe21297..22d26a9ba73 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -37878,9 +37878,13 @@ Owner of the @code{cuirass} process.
 @item @code{group} (default: @code{"cuirass"})
 Owner's group of the @code{cuirass} process.
 
-@item @code{interval} (default: @code{60})
+@item @code{interval} (default: @code{300})
 Number of seconds between the poll of the repositories followed by the
-Cuirass jobs.
+Cuirass jobs, by default.
+
+Note that individual jobset specifications may override this in their
+@code{period} field; the value specified here is only used for
+specifications that use the default @code{period} value, which is zero.
 
 @item @code{ttl} (default: @code{2592000})
 Duration to keep build results' GC roots alive, in seconds.
diff --git a/gnu/services/cuirass.scm b/gnu/services/cuirass.scm
index 87faf9255b0..581166cc499 100644
--- a/gnu/services/cuirass.scm
+++ b/gnu/services/cuirass.scm
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@
   (group            cuirass-configuration-group ;string
                     (default "cuirass"))
   (interval         cuirass-configuration-interval ;integer (seconds)
-                    (default 60))
+                    (default 300))
   (ttl              cuirass-configuration-ttl ;integer
                     (default 2592000))
   (build-expiry     cuirass-configuration-build-expiry