diff --git a/thread.c b/thread.c
index ae80a70682..360807b073 100644
--- a/thread.c
+++ b/thread.c
@@ -3971,12 +3971,13 @@ ruby_ppoll(struct pollfd *fds, nfds_t nfds,
 	int tmp, tmp2;
 
 	if (ts->tv_sec > INT_MAX/1000)
-	    timeout_ms = -1;
+	    timeout_ms = INT_MAX;
 	else {
 	    tmp = (int)(ts->tv_sec * 1000);
-	    tmp2 = (int)(ts->tv_nsec / (1000 * 1000));
+	    /* round up 1ns to 1ms to avoid excessive wakeups for <1ms sleep */
+	    tmp2 = (int)((ts->tv_nsec + 999999L) / (1000L * 1000L));
 	    if (INT_MAX - tmp < tmp2)
-		timeout_ms = -1;
+		timeout_ms = INT_MAX;
 	    else
 		timeout_ms = (int)(tmp + tmp2);
 	}