diff --git a/e2e/tests/ide/browser_returns.go b/e2e/tests/ide/browser_returns.go
index 36c355b2f..9647175d8 100644
--- a/e2e/tests/ide/browser_returns.go
+++ b/e2e/tests/ide/browser_returns.go
@@ -218,8 +218,12 @@ var _ = ginkgo.Describe(
 				}).WithTimeout(30*time.Second).WithPolling(500*time.Millisecond).
 					Should(gomega.Succeed(), "helper port-forward at %s never came up", addr)
 
-				// Now sleep past the OLD 5s idle window with NO connections.
-				time.Sleep(8 * time.Second)
+				// The helper must outlive an idle period with no client connections.
+				gomega.Consistently(func() error {
+					return syscall.Kill(state.PID, 0)
+				}).WithTimeout(8*time.Second).WithPolling(500*time.Millisecond).
+					Should(gomega.Succeed(),
+						"expected helper PID %d to stay alive through 8s idle", state.PID)
 
 				// And the listener must still accept.
 				conn, err := net.DialTimeout("tcp", addr, 3*time.Second)