diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/pool/connection.rs b/sqlx-core/src/pool/connection.rs
index ea31990abc..6ce217652e 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/pool/connection.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/pool/connection.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use crate::database::Database;
 use crate::error::Error;
 
 use super::inner::{DecrementSizeGuard, SharedPool};
+use std::future::Future;
 
 /// A connection managed by a [`Pool`][crate::pool::Pool].
 ///
@@ -60,43 +61,79 @@ impl<DB: Database> DerefMut for PoolConnection<DB> {
 
 impl<DB: Database> PoolConnection<DB> {
     /// Explicitly release a connection from the pool
+    #[deprecated = "renamed to `.detach()` for clarity"]
     pub fn release(mut self) -> DB::Connection {
+        self.detach()
+    }
+
+    /// Detach this connection from the pool, allowing it to open a replacement.
+    ///
+    /// Note that if your application uses a single shared pool, this
+    /// effectively lets the application exceed the `max_connections` setting.
+    ///
+    /// If you want the pool to treat this connection as permanently checked-out,
+    /// use [`.leak()`][Self::leak] instead.
+    pub fn detach(mut self) -> DB::Connection {
         self.live
             .take()
             .expect("PoolConnection double-dropped")
             .float(&self.pool)
             .detach()
     }
+
+    /// Detach this connection from the pool, treating it as permanently checked-out.
+    ///
+    /// This effectively will reduce the maximum capacity of the pool by 1 every time it is used.
+    ///
+    /// If you don't want to impact the pool's capacity, use [`.detach()`][Self::detach] instead.
+    pub fn leak(mut self) -> DB::Connection {
+        self.live.take().expect("PoolConnection double-dropped").raw
+    }
+
+    /// Test the connection to make sure it is still live before returning it to the pool.
+    ///
+    /// This effectively runs the drop handler eagerly instead of spawning a task to do it.
+    pub(crate) fn return_to_pool(mut self) -> impl Future<Output = ()> + Send + 'static {
+        // we want these to happen synchronously so the drop handler doesn't try to spawn a task anyway
+        // this also makes the returned future `'static`
+        let live = self.live.take();
+        let pool = self.pool.clone();
+
+        async move {
+            let mut floating = if let Some(live) = live {
+                live.float(&pool)
+            } else {
+                return;
+            };
+
+            // test the connection on-release to ensure it is still viable
+            // if an Executor future/stream is dropped during an `.await` call, the connection
+            // is likely to be left in an inconsistent state, in which case it should not be
+            // returned to the pool; also of course, if it was dropped due to an error
+            // this is simply a band-aid as SQLx-next (0.6) connections should be able
+            // to recover from cancellations
+            if let Err(e) = floating.raw.ping().await {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "error occurred while testing the connection on-release: {}",
+                    e
+                );
+
+                // we now consider the connection to be broken; just drop it to close
+                // trying to close gracefully might cause something weird to happen
+                drop(floating);
+            } else {
+                // if the connection is still viable, release it to the pool
+                pool.release(floating);
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// Returns the connection to the [`Pool`][crate::pool::Pool] it was checked-out from.
 impl<DB: Database> Drop for PoolConnection<DB> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        if let Some(live) = self.live.take() {
-            let pool = self.pool.clone();
-            sqlx_rt::spawn(async move {
-                let mut floating = live.float(&pool);
-
-                // test the connection on-release to ensure it is still viable
-                // if an Executor future/stream is dropped during an `.await` call, the connection
-                // is likely to be left in an inconsistent state, in which case it should not be
-                // returned to the pool; also of course, if it was dropped due to an error
-                // this is simply a band-aid as SQLx-next (0.6) connections should be able
-                // to recover from cancellations
-                if let Err(e) = floating.raw.ping().await {
-                    log::warn!(
-                        "error occurred while testing the connection on-release: {}",
-                        e
-                    );
-
-                    // we now consider the connection to be broken; just drop it to close
-                    // trying to close gracefully might cause something weird to happen
-                    drop(floating);
-                } else {
-                    // if the connection is still viable, release it to th epool
-                    pool.release(floating);
-                }
-            });
+        if self.live.is_some() {
+            sqlx_rt::spawn(self.return_to_pool());
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/sqlx-core/src/postgres/listener.rs b/sqlx-core/src/postgres/listener.rs
index 82c0460f4b..b9968f0295 100644
--- a/sqlx-core/src/postgres/listener.rs
+++ b/sqlx-core/src/postgres/listener.rs
@@ -263,6 +263,11 @@ impl Drop for PgListener {
             // Unregister any listeners before returning the connection to the pool.
             sqlx_rt::spawn(async move {
                 let _ = conn.execute("UNLISTEN *").await;
+
+                // inline the drop handler from `PoolConnection` so it doesn't try to spawn another task
+                // otherwise, it may trigger a panic if this task is dropped because the runtime is going away:
+                // https://github.com/launchbadge/sqlx/issues/1389
+                conn.return_to_pool().await;
             });
         }
     }