diff --git a/src/database/setup.py b/src/database/setup.py
index f02f379..cfd2306 100644
--- a/src/database/setup.py
+++ b/src/database/setup.py
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
+import functools
+
+from loguru import logger
 from sqlalchemy.engine import URL
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncEngine, create_async_engine
 
 from config import DatabaseConfiguration, get_config
 
-_user_engine = None
-_expdb_engine = None
-
 
 def _create_engine(db_config: DatabaseConfiguration) -> AsyncEngine:
     db_url = URL.create(
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ def _create_engine(db_config: DatabaseConfiguration) -> AsyncEngine:
         port=db_config.port,
         database=db_config.database,
     )
+
+    logger.info("Creating database engine for {db_url}", db_url=db_url)
     return create_async_engine(
         db_url,
         echo=db_config.echo,
@@ -23,26 +25,27 @@ def _create_engine(db_config: DatabaseConfiguration) -> AsyncEngine:
     )
 
 
+@functools.cache
 def user_database() -> AsyncEngine:
-    global _user_engine  # noqa: PLW0603
-    if _user_engine is None:
-        _user_engine = _create_engine(get_config().openml_database)
-    return _user_engine
+    return _create_engine(get_config().openml_database)
 
 
+@functools.cache
 def expdb_database() -> AsyncEngine:
-    global _expdb_engine  # noqa: PLW0603
-    if _expdb_engine is None:
-        _expdb_engine = _create_engine(get_config().expdb_database)
-    return _expdb_engine
+    return _create_engine(get_config().expdb_database)
 
 
 async def close_databases() -> None:
     """Close all database connections."""
-    global _user_engine, _expdb_engine  # noqa: PLW0603
-    if _user_engine is not None:
-        await _user_engine.dispose()
-        _user_engine = None
-    if _expdb_engine is not None:
-        await _expdb_engine.dispose()
-        _expdb_engine = None
+    for db in (user_database, expdb_database):
+        if db.cache_info().currsize == 1:
+            engine = db()
+            logger.info("Disposing of engine connected to {db_url}", db_url=engine.url)
+            try:
+                await engine.dispose()
+            except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001
+                logger.exception(
+                    "Issue disposing of database engine for {db_url}",
+                    db_url=engine.url,
+                )
+            db.cache_clear()