diff --git a/scripts/unit-test.py b/scripts/unit-test.py
index 416d640..a832304 100755
--- a/scripts/unit-test.py
+++ b/scripts/unit-test.py
@@ -407,6 +407,10 @@
             '-Db_colorout=never',
             '-Db_coverage=' + str(build_for_testing).lower(),
         ]
+        if build_for_testing:
+            meson_flags.append('--buildtype=debug')
+        else:
+            meson_flags.append('--buildtype=debugoptimized')
         if 'tests' in meson_options:
             meson_flags.append('-Dtests=' + mesonFeature(build_for_testing))
         if 'examples' in meson_options: