diff --git a/juniper/src/tests/fixtures/starwars/schema.rs b/juniper/src/tests/fixtures/starwars/schema.rs
index 7e0431f1..d5eebbe5 100644
--- a/juniper/src/tests/fixtures/starwars/schema.rs
+++ b/juniper/src/tests/fixtures/starwars/schema.rs
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ pub struct Human {
     name: String,
     friend_ids: Vec<String>,
     appears_in: Vec<Episode>,
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
     secret_backstory: Option<String>,
     home_planet: Option<String>,
 }
@@ -164,6 +165,7 @@ pub struct Droid {
     name: String,
     friend_ids: Vec<String>,
     appears_in: Vec<Episode>,
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
     secret_backstory: Option<String>,
     primary_function: Option<String>,
 }
diff --git a/juniper_actix/Cargo.toml b/juniper_actix/Cargo.toml
index 93f90a29..fb01ee65 100644
--- a/juniper_actix/Cargo.toml
+++ b/juniper_actix/Cargo.toml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ documentation = "https://docs.rs/juniper_actix"
 repository = "https://github.com/graphql-rust/juniper"
 
 [features]
-subscriptions = ["juniper_graphql_ws"]
+subscriptions = ["juniper_graphql_ws", "tokio"]
 
 [dependencies]
 actix = "0.12"
@@ -26,12 +26,13 @@ futures = "0.3"
 serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1.0"
 thiserror = "1.0"
+tokio = { version = "1.0", features = ["sync"], optional = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 actix-rt = "2"
 actix-cors = "0.6.0-beta.2"
 actix-identity = "0.4.0-beta.2"
-tokio = "1"
+tokio = "1.0"
 async-stream = "0.3"
 actix-test = "0.1.0-beta.3"
 
diff --git a/juniper_actix/src/lib.rs b/juniper_actix/src/lib.rs
index 8912e139..279f246a 100644
--- a/juniper_actix/src/lib.rs
+++ b/juniper_actix/src/lib.rs
@@ -211,10 +211,7 @@ pub async fn playground_handler(
 /// [1]: https://github.com/apollographql/subscriptions-transport-ws/blob/master/PROTOCOL.md
 #[cfg(feature = "subscriptions")]
 pub mod subscriptions {
-    use std::{
-        fmt,
-        sync::{Arc, Mutex},
-    };
+    use std::{fmt, sync::Arc};
 
     use actix::{prelude::*, Actor, StreamHandler};
     use actix_web::{
@@ -222,7 +219,6 @@ pub mod subscriptions {
         web, HttpRequest, HttpResponse,
     };
     use actix_web_actors::ws;
-
     use juniper::{
         futures::{
             stream::{SplitSink, SplitStream, StreamExt},
@@ -231,6 +227,7 @@ pub mod subscriptions {
         GraphQLSubscriptionType, GraphQLTypeAsync, RootNode, ScalarValue,
     };
     use juniper_graphql_ws::{ArcSchema, ClientMessage, Connection, Init, ServerMessage};
+    use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 
     /// Serves the graphql-ws protocol over a WebSocket connection.
     ///
@@ -326,8 +323,9 @@ pub mod subscriptions {
                     let tx = self.graphql_tx.clone();
 
                     async move {
-                        let mut tx = tx.lock().unwrap();
-                        tx.send(msg)
+                        tx.lock()
+                            .await
+                            .send(msg)
                             .await
                             .expect("Infallible: this should not happen");
                     }
@@ -363,7 +361,7 @@ pub mod subscriptions {
             let addr = ctx.address();
 
             let fut = async move {
-                let mut stream = stream.lock().unwrap();
+                let mut stream = stream.lock().await;
                 while let Some(message) = stream.next().await {
                     // sending the message to self so that it can be forwarded back to the client
                     addr.do_send(ServerMessageWrapper { message });