diff --git a/mev_inspect/retry.py b/mev_inspect/retry.py
index 25273be..91c0501 100644
--- a/mev_inspect/retry.py
+++ b/mev_inspect/retry.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
+import asyncio
 import logging
 import random
 from asyncio.exceptions import TimeoutError
-from time import sleep
 from typing import Any, Callable, Collection, Coroutine, Type
 
 from aiohttp.client_exceptions import (
@@ -67,9 +67,7 @@ async def exception_retry_with_backoff_middleware(
                         backoff_time = backoff_time_seconds * (
                             random.uniform(5, 10) ** i
                         )
-                        # use blocking sleep to prevent new tries on
-                        # concurrent requests during sleep
-                        sleep(backoff_time)
+                        await asyncio.sleep(backoff_time)
                         continue
                     else:
                         raise