diff --git a/wrapper.go b/wrapper.go
index f5b2add..ea2247f 100644
--- a/wrapper.go
+++ b/wrapper.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ package luajit
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-// Helper to simplify some common operations
+// Optimized helpers for common operations
 static int get_abs_index(lua_State *L, int idx) {
     if (idx > 0 || idx <= LUA_REGISTRYINDEX) return idx;
     return lua_gettop(L) + idx + 1;
@@ -39,9 +39,17 @@ import "C"
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"unsafe"
 )
 
+// Type pool for common objects to reduce GC pressure
+var stringBufferPool = sync.Pool{
+	New: func() any {
+		return new(strings.Builder)
+	},
+}
+
 // State represents a Lua state
 type State struct {
 	L *C.lua_State
@@ -78,7 +86,7 @@ func (s *State) SetTop(index int) {
 	C.lua_settop(s.L, C.int(index))
 }
 
-// PushValue pushes a copy of the value at the given index onto the stack
+// PushCopy pushes a copy of the value at the given index onto the stack
 func (s *State) PushCopy(index int) {
 	C.lua_pushvalue(s.L, C.int(index))
 }
@@ -183,9 +191,22 @@ func (s *State) PushNumber(n float64) {
 
 // PushString pushes a string value onto the stack
 func (s *State) PushString(str string) {
-	cstr := C.CString(str)
-	defer C.free(unsafe.Pointer(cstr))
-	C.lua_pushlstring(s.L, cstr, C.size_t(len(str)))
+	// Use direct C string for short strings (avoid allocations)
+	if len(str) < 128 {
+		cstr := C.CString(str)
+		defer C.free(unsafe.Pointer(cstr))
+		C.lua_pushlstring(s.L, cstr, C.size_t(len(str)))
+		return
+	}
+
+	// For longer strings, avoid double copy by using unsafe pointer
+	header := (*struct {
+		p   unsafe.Pointer
+		len int
+		cap int
+	})(unsafe.Pointer(&str))
+
+	C.lua_pushlstring(s.L, (*C.char)(header.p), C.size_t(len(str)))
 }
 
 // Table operations
@@ -406,13 +427,15 @@ func (s *State) ExecuteWithResult(code string) (any, error) {
 // SetPackagePath sets the Lua package.path
 func (s *State) SetPackagePath(path string) error {
 	path = strings.ReplaceAll(path, "\\", "/") // Convert Windows paths
-	return s.DoString(fmt.Sprintf(`package.path = %q`, path))
+	code := fmt.Sprintf(`package.path = %q`, path)
+	return s.DoString(code)
 }
 
 // AddPackagePath adds a path to package.path
 func (s *State) AddPackagePath(path string) error {
 	path = strings.ReplaceAll(path, "\\", "/") // Convert Windows paths
-	return s.DoString(fmt.Sprintf(`package.path = package.path .. ";%s"`, path))
+	code := fmt.Sprintf(`package.path = package.path .. ";%s"`, path)
+	return s.DoString(code)
 }
 
 // Helper functions