diff --git a/cmd/restart.go b/cmd/restart.go
index d543c876..754d9425 100644
--- a/cmd/restart.go
+++ b/cmd/restart.go
@@ -50,6 +50,6 @@ func newRestartCmd(cfg *env.Env, tel *telemetry.Client, logger log.Logger) *cobr
 			return container.Restart(cmd.Context(), rt, sink, stopOpts, startOpts, false)
 		},
 	}
-	cmd.Flags().Bool("persist", false, "Enable local persistence (sets LOCALSTACK_PERSISTENCE=1)")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("persist", false, "Persist emulator state across restarts")
 	return cmd
 }
diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 873728db..650352f9 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func NewRootCmd(cfg *env.Env, tel *telemetry.Client, logger log.Logger) *cobra.C
 
 	root.PersistentFlags().String("config", "", "Path to config file")
 	root.PersistentFlags().BoolVar(&cfg.NonInteractive, "non-interactive", false, "Disable interactive mode")
-	root.Flags().Bool("persist", false, "Enable local persistence (sets LOCALSTACK_PERSISTENCE=1)")
+	root.Flags().Bool("persist", false, "Persist emulator state across restarts")
 
 	configureHelp(root)
 
diff --git a/cmd/start.go b/cmd/start.go
index 3ece0767..8d3ec267 100644
--- a/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/start.go
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ func newStartCmd(cfg *env.Env, tel *telemetry.Client, logger log.Logger) *cobra.
 			return startEmulator(c.Context(), rt, cfg, tel, logger, persist, firstRun)
 		},
 	}
-	cmd.Flags().Bool("persist", false, "Enable local persistence (sets LOCALSTACK_PERSISTENCE=1)")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("persist", false, "Persist emulator state across restarts")
 	return cmd
 }