diff --git a/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/README.md b/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/README.md
index 186f209..4d827ff 100644
--- a/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/README.md
+++ b/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/README.md
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ In order to run Tornjak with simple HTTP Connection only, make sure you don't cr
 | `dataStore.sql.externalSecret.key`                                                           | The key of the secret object whose value is the dataStore.sql password                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | `""`                                                                                           |
 | `dataStore.sql.maxOpenConns`                                                                 | The maximum number of open db connections                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | `100`                                                                                          |
 | `dataStore.sql.maxIdleConns`                                                                 | The maximum number of idle connections in the pool                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | `2`                                                                                            |
-| `dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime`                                                              | The maximum amount of time a connection may be reused. If 0, time is unlimited                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | `0`                                                                                            |
+| `dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime`                                                              | The maximum amount of time a connection may be reused. Supports duration strings (e.g., "1h", "30m", "3600s") or 0 for unlimited. Duration strings are recommended to prevent connection accumulation.                                                                                                                                                                                               | `0`                                                                                            |
 | `dataStore.sql.disableMigration`                                                             | True to disable auto-migration functionality                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | `false`                                                                                        |
 | `dataStore.sql.region`                                                                       | Region to use when database type is either aws_mysql or aws_postgresql                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | `""`                                                                                           |
 | `dataStore.sql.readOnly.enabled`                                                             | Set to true to configure a readOnly dartabase connection                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | `false`                                                                                        |
diff --git a/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/templates/configmap.yaml b/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/templates/configmap.yaml
index 0d297c6..07a10ed 100644
--- a/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/templates/configmap.yaml
+++ b/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/templates/configmap.yaml
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ plugins:
         {{- end }}
         max_open_conns: {{ .Values.dataStore.sql.maxOpenConns }}
         max_idle_conns: {{ .Values.dataStore.sql.maxIdleConns }}
-        {{- if ne (int .Values.dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime) 0 }}
+        {{- if and .Values.dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime (ne (toString .Values.dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime) "0") }}
         conn_max_lifetime: {{ .Values.dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime }}
         {{- end }}
         disable_migration: {{ .Values.dataStore.sql.disableMigration }}
diff --git a/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/values.yaml b/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/values.yaml
index f1b9d2d..b9fd12a 100644
--- a/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/values.yaml
+++ b/charts/spire/charts/spire-server/values.yaml
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ dataStore:
     maxOpenConns: 100
     ## @param dataStore.sql.maxIdleConns The maximum number of idle connections in the pool
     maxIdleConns: 2
-    ## @param dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime The maximum amount of time a connection may be reused. If 0, time is unlimited
+    ## @param dataStore.sql.connMaxLifetime The maximum amount of time a connection may be reused. Supports duration strings (e.g., "1h", "30m", "3600s") or 0 for unlimited. Duration strings are recommended to prevent connection accumulation.
     connMaxLifetime: 0
     ## @param dataStore.sql.disableMigration True to disable auto-migration functionality
     disableMigration: false