diff --git a/backend/app/services/notification_service.py b/backend/app/services/notification_service.py
index f36910c8..0d15fe62 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/notification_service.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/notification_service.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import uuid
 from datetime import datetime
 
-from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy import func, select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app.models.notification import Notification
@@ -91,12 +91,16 @@ def unread_count(
         recipient_id: uuid.UUID,
     ) -> int:
 
-        stmt = select(Notification).where(
-            Notification.recipient_id == recipient_id,
-            Notification.is_read.is_(False),
+        stmt = (
+            select(func.count())
+            .select_from(Notification)
+            .where(
+                Notification.recipient_id == recipient_id,
+                Notification.is_read.is_(False),
+            )
         )
 
-        return len(list(db.scalars(stmt)))
+        return db.scalar(stmt) or 0
 
     @staticmethod
     def mark_as_read(