diff --git a/docs/about/changelog.md b/docs/about/changelog.md
index 33a1694b1..6fcf1a287 100644
--- a/docs/about/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/about/changelog.md
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ priorities and future plans.
 - Avoid arbitrary-precision allocation for ordinary native-integer unsigned
   shifts while retaining the existing wide-integer fallback.
 
+- Avoid redundant active-runtime lookups while binding and restoring implicit
+  global `$_` `foreach` aliases.
+
 - Restore lexical-sub debugger dispatch and `glob` fallback behavior after an
   undefined `CORE::GLOBAL::glob` slot on both execution backends.
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/runtime/runtimetypes/GlobalVariable.java b/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/runtime/runtimetypes/GlobalVariable.java
index f082df6f6..684dfa5cd 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/runtime/runtimetypes/GlobalVariable.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/runtime/runtimetypes/GlobalVariable.java
@@ -1330,8 +1330,11 @@ public static void restoreTemporaryGlobalVariable(
     }
 
     public static void aliasForeachGlobalVariable(String key, RuntimeScalar var) {
-        clearForeachGlobalAlias(key);
-        RuntimeScalar previous = globalVariables.get(key);
+        GlobalRuntimeState state = globalState();
+        Map<String, RuntimeScalar> aliases = state.foreachScalarAliases();
+        clearForeachGlobalAlias(aliases, key);
+        Map<String, RuntimeScalar> scalars = state.scalarValues();
+        RuntimeScalar previous = scalars.get(key);
         if (var instanceof RuntimeScalarReadOnly || var.type == RuntimeScalarType.READONLY_SCALAR) {
             if (var instanceof RuntimeScalarReadOnly readOnly) {
                 readOnly.installForeachRestore(key, previous);
@@ -1343,14 +1346,18 @@ public static void aliasForeachGlobalVariable(String key, RuntimeScalar var) {
             var = new ReadOnlyAlias(var, key, previous);
         }
         retainForeachAlias(var);
-        foreachGlobalAliases().put(key, var);
+        aliases.put(key, var);
         markPackageGlobalRoot(var);
-        globalVariables.put(key, var);
+        scalars.put(key, var);
         invalidatePackageRootSnapshot();
     }
 
     public static void clearForeachGlobalAlias(String key) {
-        RuntimeScalar previous = foreachGlobalAliases().remove(key);
+        clearForeachGlobalAlias(globalState().foreachScalarAliases(), key);
+    }
+
+    private static void clearForeachGlobalAlias(Map<String, RuntimeScalar> aliases, String key) {
+        RuntimeScalar previous = aliases.remove(key);
         if (previous != null) {
             releaseForeachAlias(previous);
         }
@@ -1358,8 +1365,9 @@ public static void clearForeachGlobalAlias(String key) {
 
     /** Restore the global topic scalar after an implicit foreach alias. */
     public static void restoreForeachGlobalVariable(String key, RuntimeScalar value) {
-        clearForeachGlobalAlias(key);
-        globalVariables.put(key, value);
+        GlobalRuntimeState state = globalState();
+        clearForeachGlobalAlias(state.foreachScalarAliases(), key);
+        state.scalarValues().put(key, value);
         invalidatePackageRootSnapshot();
     }