diff --git a/config.template.json b/config.template.json
index 198f92a..f65fe2d 100644
--- a/config.template.json
+++ b/config.template.json
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
     "RoomIDList":["room id list goes here"],
     "RolesToNotify": ["<@&roleid>", "<@userid>"],
     "GameStatus": "current playing game",
+    "PollingInterval": 10,
     "Servers": [
         {
             "Name": "Your awesome server",
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index ebf4bd1..69be37d 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -6,17 +6,19 @@ import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"log"
 	"os"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // Variables used for command line parameters
 var Config configStruct
 
 type configStruct struct {
-	Token         string   `json:"Token"`
-	RoomIDList    []string `json:"RoomIDList"`
-	RolesToNotify []string `json:"RolesToNotify"`
-	Servers       []server `json:"Servers"`
-	GameStatus    string   `json:"GameStatus"`
+	Token           string        `json:"Token"`
+	RoomIDList      []string      `json:"RoomIDList"`
+	RolesToNotify   []string      `json:"RolesToNotify"`
+	Servers         []server      `json:"Servers"`
+	GameStatus      string        `json:"GameStatus"`
+	PollingInterval time.Duration `json:"PollingInterval"`
 }
 
 type server struct {
@@ -43,4 +45,8 @@ func Configure() {
 		log.Println(err)
 	}
 
+	if Config.PollingInterval == 0 {
+		log.Fatal("Please set your PollingInterval > 0 in your config file.")
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index a91ec5a..e09dbfd 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@ NOTE: This bot currently does not work for UDP servers.
 - for user `<@userid>`
 - for role `<@&roleid>`
 
+### Polling Interval
+The polling interval is how often the bot will try to ping the servers.
+A good interval is 10 seconds, but this may need some adjustment if
+it happens to be spamming notifications.
+
+- time in seconds
+- configurable in `config.json`
+
 ## Usage
 To get the current status of your servers simply type `!ServerStatus` in chat.
 
diff --git a/serverstatus/serverstatus.go b/serverstatus/serverstatus.go
index 8da791e..2da3061 100644
--- a/serverstatus/serverstatus.go
+++ b/serverstatus/serverstatus.go
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ func scanServers() {
 			config.Config.Servers[index].Online = serverUp
 		}
 
-		time.Sleep(time.Second * 5)
+		time.Sleep(time.Second * config.Config.PollingInterval)
 	}
 }