diff --git a/repos/base-hw/src/core/include/spec/x86/cpu_support.h b/repos/base-hw/src/core/include/spec/x86/cpu_support.h
index 534e96ac18..ff6a7abda4 100644
--- a/repos/base-hw/src/core/include/spec/x86/cpu_support.h
+++ b/repos/base-hw/src/core/include/spec/x86/cpu_support.h
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ class Genode::Cpu
 		/**
 		 * Wait for the next interrupt as cheap as possible
 		 */
-		static void wait_for_interrupt() { }
+		static void wait_for_interrupt() { asm volatile ("pause"); }
 
 		/**
 		 * Return wether to retry an undefined user instruction after this call