thunderbolt bridge disconnects after sleep

I have a macmini 2018 connected via an Apple thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 adapter and then a thunderbolt 2 cable to a macmini late 2014. Both are running the latest Monterey 12.2 OS. I am using the thunderbolt bridge network connection because it is very fast, better than 10G ethernet without needing the expensive hardware. I set up the network bridge by 1) letting it automatically connect together and 2) by manually putting the 2 macs on the same network. Both methods work fine when set up. I can transfer files at blazing speed. But when my 2018 mac mini sleeps, after I wake it up, it shows the connection still there until about 15 seconds. Then the bridge connection disconnects. The only way I can get it back is to reboot both computers. I have tried various settings on power- disable power nap, but nothing modifies this behavior. I have searched on the web for solutions and only find people who have given up and purchased a 10G ethernet adapter because that works after waking up from sleep.

Anyone has solved this issue?