diff --git a/futures-channel/src/mpsc/mod.rs b/futures-channel/src/mpsc/mod.rs
index 20d16a1dc7..4dd54fbe48 100644
--- a/futures-channel/src/mpsc/mod.rs
+++ b/futures-channel/src/mpsc/mod.rs
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@
 
 use futures_core::stream::Stream;
 use futures_core::task::{LocalWaker, Waker, Poll};
+use futures_core::task::__internal::AtomicWaker;
 use std::any::Any;
 use std::error::Error;
 use std::fmt;
@@ -291,7 +292,7 @@ struct Inner<T> {
     num_senders: AtomicUsize,
 
     // Handle to the receiver's task.
-    recv_task: Mutex<ReceiverTask>,
+    recv_task: AtomicWaker,
 }
 
 // Struct representation of `Inner::state`.
@@ -304,18 +305,6 @@ struct State {
     num_messages: usize,
 }
 
-#[derive(Debug)]
-struct ReceiverTask {
-    unparked: bool,
-    task: Option<Waker>,
-}
-
-// Returned from Receiver::try_park()
-enum TryPark {
-    Parked,
-    NotEmpty,
-}
-
 // The `is_open` flag is stored in the left-most bit of `Inner::state`
 const OPEN_MASK: usize = usize::MAX - (usize::MAX >> 1);
 
@@ -394,10 +383,7 @@ fn channel2<T>(buffer: Option<usize>) -> (Sender<T>, Receiver<T>) {
         message_queue: Queue::new(),
         parked_queue: Queue::new(),
         num_senders: AtomicUsize::new(1),
-        recv_task: Mutex::new(ReceiverTask {
-            unparked: false,
-            task: None,
-        }),
+        recv_task: AtomicWaker::new(),
     });
 
     let tx = Sender {
@@ -512,7 +498,7 @@ impl<T> Sender<T> {
 
         // Signal to the receiver that a message has been enqueued. If the
         // receiver is parked, this will unpark the task.
-        self.signal();
+        self.inner.recv_task.wake();
     }
 
     // Increment the number of queued messages. Returns the resulting number.
@@ -545,35 +531,6 @@ impl<T> Sender<T> {
         }
     }
 
-    // Signal to the receiver task that a message has been enqueued
-    fn signal(&self) {
-        // TODO
-        // This logic can probably be improved by guarding the lock with an
-        // atomic.
-        //
-        // Do this step first so that the lock is dropped when
-        // `unpark` is called
-        let task = {
-            let mut recv_task = self.inner.recv_task.lock().unwrap();
-
-            // If the receiver has already been unparked, then there is nothing
-            // more to do
-            if recv_task.unparked {
-                return;
-            }
-
-            // Setting this flag enables the receiving end to detect that
-            // an unpark event happened in order to avoid unnecessarily
-            // parking.
-            recv_task.unparked = true;
-            recv_task.task.take()
-        };
-
-        if let Some(task) = task {
-            task.wake();
-        }
-    }
-
     fn park(&mut self, lw: Option<&LocalWaker>) {
         // TODO: clean up internal state if the task::current will fail
 
@@ -633,7 +590,7 @@ impl<T> Sender<T> {
         // that stuff from `do_send`.
 
         self.inner.set_closed();
-        self.signal();
+        self.inner.recv_task.wake();
     }
 
     fn poll_unparked(&mut self, lw: Option<&LocalWaker>) -> Poll<()> {
@@ -680,7 +637,7 @@ impl<T> UnboundedSender<T> {
     /// Closes this channel from the sender side, preventing any new messages.
     pub fn close_channel(&self) {
         self.0.inner.set_closed();
-        self.0.signal();
+        self.0.inner.recv_task.wake();
     }
 
     // Do the send without parking current task.
@@ -847,21 +804,6 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
         }
     }
 
-    // Try to park the receiver task
-    fn try_park(&self, lw: &LocalWaker) -> TryPark {
-        // First, track the task in the `recv_task` slot
-        let mut recv_task = self.inner.recv_task.lock().unwrap();
-
-        if recv_task.unparked {
-            // Consume the `unpark` signal without actually parking
-            recv_task.unparked = false;
-            return TryPark::NotEmpty;
-        }
-
-        recv_task.task = Some(lw.clone().into_waker());
-        TryPark::Parked
-    }
-
     fn dec_num_messages(&self) {
         // OPEN_MASK is highest bit, so it's unaffected by subtraction
         // unless there's underflow, and we know there's no underflow
@@ -880,31 +822,17 @@ impl<T> Stream for Receiver<T> {
         mut self: Pin<&mut Self>,
         lw: &LocalWaker,
     ) -> Poll<Option<T>> {
-        loop {
             // Try to read a message off of the message queue.
-            let msg = match self.next_message() {
-                Poll::Ready(msg) => msg,
-                Poll::Pending => {
-                    // There are no messages to read, in this case, attempt to
-                    // park. The act of parking will verify that the channel is
-                    // still empty after the park operation has completed.
-                    match self.try_park(lw) {
-                        TryPark::Parked => {
-                            // The task was parked, and the channel is still
-                            // empty, return Pending.
-                            return Poll::Pending;
-                        }
-                        TryPark::NotEmpty => {
-                            // A message has been sent while attempting to
-                            // park. Loop again, the next iteration is
-                            // guaranteed to get the message.
-                            continue;
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            };
-            // Return the message
-            return Poll::Ready(msg);
+        match self.next_message() {
+            Poll::Ready(msg) => Poll::Ready(msg),
+            Poll::Pending => {
+                // There are no messages to read, in this case, park.
+                self.inner.recv_task.register(lw);
+                // Check queue again after parking to prevent race condition:
+                // a message could be added to the queue after previous `next_message`
+                // before `register` call.
+                self.next_message()
+            }
         }
     }
 }