diff --git a/kernel/sched.c b/kernel/sched.c
index 41541d79e3c8..09b574e7f4df 100644
--- a/kernel/sched.c
+++ b/kernel/sched.c
@@ -3865,8 +3865,16 @@ int mutex_spin_on_owner(struct mutex *lock, struct thread_info *owner)
 		/*
 		 * Owner changed, break to re-assess state.
 		 */
-		if (lock->owner != owner)
+		if (lock->owner != owner) {
+			/*
+			 * If the lock has switched to a different owner,
+			 * we likely have heavy contention. Return 0 to quit
+			 * optimistic spinning and not contend further:
+			 */
+			if (lock->owner)
+				return 0;
 			break;
+		}
 
 		/*
 		 * Is that owner really running on that cpu?