Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for performing timeout waits of process threads. Generally, a thread requesting access to locked resource sends a timeout request to a timeout handler process, and then goes to sleep. The timeout request is received by a receiving thread of the timeout handler process. The receiving thread may insert the timeout request into a minimum heap of timeout requests, and may determine whether the inserted request is due earlier than any of the existing timeout requests. If so, the receiving thread may interrupt a timing thread of the timeout handler process. The timing thread may then wait until reaching the requested timeout, and then send a wakeup message to the sleeping thread.