diff --git a/src/mcbe/assets/bin/maint b/src/mcbe/assets/bin/maint
index 915503e..4c3f8e5 100755
--- a/src/mcbe/assets/bin/maint
+++ b/src/mcbe/assets/bin/maint
@@ -12,9 +12,6 @@ hour=$(date +%H)
 day=$(date +%d)
 month=$(date +%m)
 year=$(date +%Y)
-# check if any players are currently logged in
-mcbe-exec list > /dev/null
-players=$(mcbe-exec list | head -n 1 | cut -d ' ' -f 3 | cut -d '/' -f 1)
 
 # cd to backup dir
 cd /vol/data/backup
@@ -26,9 +23,9 @@ mcbe-backup worlds-hourly-$hour
 if [[ $hour -eq 1 ]]; then
     # if no players are present, restart the server
     # should help deal with any memory leaks
+    players=$(mcbe-exec list | head -n 1 | cut -d ' ' -f 3 | cut -d '/' -f 1)
     if [[ $players -eq 0 ]]; then
-	mcbe-shutdown
-	systemctl start mcbe
+	mcbe-restart
     fi
     # save daily and longterm backups
     rsync -a worlds-hourly-$hour/ worlds-daily-$day/
diff --git a/src/mcbe/assets/bin/mcbe-restart b/src/mcbe/assets/bin/mcbe-restart
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bfb38b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcbe/assets/bin/mcbe-restart
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+mcbe-shutdown
+sleep 1
+systemctl start mcbe
+sleep 3