diff --git a/src/common.h b/src/common.h
index fcbe3cd..aaf0bc3 100644
--- a/src/common.h
+++ b/src/common.h
@@ -81,6 +81,14 @@
 
 #endif
 
+#ifndef __has_feature
+  #define __has_feature(x) 0
+#endif
+
+#if defined(_DEBUG) || defined(__SANITIZE_ADDRESS__) || __has_feature(address_sanitizer) || defined(__SANITIZE_THREAD__) || __has_feature(thread_sanitizer)
+#define P2POOL_DEBUGGING 1
+#endif
+
 namespace p2pool {
 
 constexpr size_t HASH_SIZE = 32;
diff --git a/src/side_chain.cpp b/src/side_chain.cpp
index fa013f0..97dba759 100644
--- a/src/side_chain.cpp
+++ b/src/side_chain.cpp
@@ -171,7 +171,8 @@ SideChain::SideChain(p2pool* pool, NetworkType type, const char* pool_name)
 	// Use between 1 and 8 threads
 	if (numThreads < 1) numThreads = 1;
 
-#ifndef _DEBUG
+	// Don't limit thread count when debugging because debug builds are slow
+#ifndef P2POOL_DEBUGGING
 	if (numThreads > 8) numThreads = 8;
 #endif