diff --git a/channeldb/db.go b/channeldb/db.go
index e9a9a185..0fa3953f 100644
--- a/channeldb/db.go
+++ b/channeldb/db.go
@@ -135,7 +135,14 @@ func Open(dbPath string, modifiers ...OptionModifier) (*DB, error) {
 		modifier(&opts)
 	}
 
-	bdb, err := bbolt.Open(path, dbFilePermission, nil)
+	// Specify bbolt freelist options to reduce heap pressure in case the
+	// freelist grows to be very large.
+	options := &bbolt.Options{
+		NoFreelistSync: true,
+		FreelistType:   bbolt.FreelistMapType,
+	}
+
+	bdb, err := bbolt.Open(path, dbFilePermission, options)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index cb8b794b..d04b0f83 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/btcsuite/btcutil v0.0.0-20190425235716-9e5f4b9a998d
 	github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet v0.0.0-20190712034938-7a3a3e82cbb6
 	github.com/btcsuite/fastsha256 v0.0.0-20160815193821-637e65642941
-	github.com/coreos/bbolt v1.3.2
+	github.com/coreos/bbolt v1.3.3
 	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1
 	github.com/go-errors/errors v1.0.1
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.3.1
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 493d963a..f24783c0 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ github.com/client9/misspell v0.3.4/go.mod h1:qj6jICC3Q7zFZvVWo7KLAzC3yx5G7kyvSDk
 github.com/coreos/bbolt v0.0.0-20180223184059-7ee3ded59d4835e10f3e7d0f7603c42aa5e83820/go.mod h1:iRUV2dpdMOn7Bo10OQBFzIJO9kkE559Wcmn+qkEiiKk=
 github.com/coreos/bbolt v1.3.2 h1:wZwiHHUieZCquLkDL0B8UhzreNWsPHooDAG3q34zk0s=
 github.com/coreos/bbolt v1.3.2/go.mod h1:iRUV2dpdMOn7Bo10OQBFzIJO9kkE559Wcmn+qkEiiKk=
+github.com/coreos/bbolt v1.3.3 h1:n6AiVyVRKQFNb6mJlwESEvvLoDyiTzXX7ORAUlkeBdY=
+github.com/coreos/bbolt v1.3.3/go.mod h1:iRUV2dpdMOn7Bo10OQBFzIJO9kkE559Wcmn+qkEiiKk=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v0.0.0-20171005155431-ecdeabc65495/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
diff --git a/watchtower/wtdb/db_common.go b/watchtower/wtdb/db_common.go
index 63bca9ae..ed6f1c6b 100644
--- a/watchtower/wtdb/db_common.go
+++ b/watchtower/wtdb/db_common.go
@@ -63,7 +63,14 @@ func createDBIfNotExist(dbPath, name string) (*bbolt.DB, bool, error) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	bdb, err := bbolt.Open(path, dbFilePermission, nil)
+	// Specify bbolt freelist options to reduce heap pressure in case the
+	// freelist grows to be very large.
+	options := &bbolt.Options{
+		NoFreelistSync: true,
+		FreelistType:   bbolt.FreelistMapType,
+	}
+
+	bdb, err := bbolt.Open(path, dbFilePermission, options)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, false, err
 	}