mySQL server drops jdbc connections after 8 hours of inactivity - how can I prevent this from happening

[Lev Verkhovsky]

Hi,

I have a hibernate-managed c3p0 connection pool of Connector/J connections 
to a mySQL database and after 8 hours of inactivity the server drops the 
connections, causing the connections die and throw exceptions when used. 
What is the best way to prevent this from happening? I need something that 
is production-strength.

Thanks in advance.