diff --git a/esphome/components/esp32/core.cpp b/esphome/components/esp32/core.cpp
index add50dcf4d..1fa51f1d9e 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp32/core.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/esp32/core.cpp
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ static StaticTask_t loop_task_tcb;        // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-avoid-non-
 static StackType_t
     loop_task_stack[ESPHOME_LOOP_TASK_STACK_SIZE];  // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-avoid-non-const-global-variables)
 
-void loop_task(void *pv_params) {
+void __attribute__((optimize("O2"))) loop_task(void *pv_params) {
   setup();
   while (true) {
     App.loop();
diff --git a/esphome/components/host/core.cpp b/esphome/components/host/core.cpp
index 0ade4274fe..596b46305f 100644
--- a/esphome/components/host/core.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/host/core.cpp
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ uint32_t arch_get_cpu_freq_hz() { return 1000000000U; }
 
 void setup();
 void loop();
-int main() {
+int __attribute__((optimize("O2"))) main() {
   // Install signal handlers for graceful shutdown (flushes preferences to disk)
   std::signal(SIGINT, signal_handler);
   std::signal(SIGTERM, signal_handler);
diff --git a/esphome/components/zephyr/core.cpp b/esphome/components/zephyr/core.cpp
index a3b0471ebc..84dee374f5 100644
--- a/esphome/components/zephyr/core.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/zephyr/core.cpp
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ void get_mac_address_raw(uint8_t *mac) {  // NOLINT(readability-non-const-parame
 void setup();
 void loop();
 
-int main() {
+int __attribute__((optimize("O2"))) main() {
   setup();
   while (true) {
     loop();
diff --git a/esphome/core/application.h b/esphome/core/application.h
index 6b2969b490..5b68146b2d 100644
--- a/esphome/core/application.h
+++ b/esphome/core/application.h
@@ -837,7 +837,7 @@ inline void ESPHOME_ALWAYS_INLINE Application::before_loop_tasks_(uint32_t loop_
   this->in_loop_ = true;
 }
 
-inline void ESPHOME_ALWAYS_INLINE Application::loop() {
+inline void ESPHOME_ALWAYS_INLINE __attribute__((optimize("O2"))) Application::loop() {
   uint8_t new_app_state = 0;
 
   // Get the initial loop time at the start
diff --git a/esphome/writer.py b/esphome/writer.py
index 06a2230118..c2e0d08fa4 100644
--- a/esphome/writer.py
+++ b/esphome/writer.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ void setup() {
   App.setup();
 }
 
-void loop() {
+void __attribute__((optimize("O2"))) loop() {
   App.loop();
 }
 """,