diff --git a/webkit2png/webkit2png.py b/webkit2png/webkit2png.py
index e6a2b21..75e2db7 100755
--- a/webkit2png/webkit2png.py
+++ b/webkit2png/webkit2png.py
@@ -295,6 +295,8 @@ def _load_page(self, res, width, height, timeout):
                 raise RuntimeError("Request timed out on %s" % res)
             while QApplication.hasPendingEvents() and self.__loading:
                 QCoreApplication.processEvents()
+            # sleep to decrease cpu usage while waiting for response
+            time.sleep(0.5)
 
         if self.logger: self.logger.debug("Processing result")