diff --git a/sys/include/net/netopt.h b/sys/include/net/netopt.h
index fd56b81feee940a711f36d87d22e4af8d2ec103b..55d9c3ef81a70e077ea6655833555f1059f1f78d 100644
--- a/sys/include/net/netopt.h
+++ b/sys/include/net/netopt.h
@@ -193,6 +193,16 @@ typedef enum {
      */
     NETOPT_CSMA_MINBE,
 
+    /**
+     * @brief en/disable blocking of radio sleep when running a duty cycling MAC layer
+     *
+     * (netopt_enable_t) Enabling this option tells the MAC layer to never put
+     * the radio to sleep. Useful in gateways and routers not running on
+     * batteries to improve responsiveness and allow battery powered nodes on
+     * the same network to sleep more often.
+     */
+    NETOPT_MAC_NO_SLEEP,
+
     /**
      * @brief read-only check for a wired interface.
      *
diff --git a/sys/net/crosslayer/netopt/netopt.c b/sys/net/crosslayer/netopt/netopt.c
index f91adf297708df64dbb9338ce549f1108807bf29..33cb2352652ecefc9ba8124f254200ddf63ceb37 100644
--- a/sys/net/crosslayer/netopt/netopt.c
+++ b/sys/net/crosslayer/netopt/netopt.c
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ static const char *_netopt_strmap[] = {
     [NETOPT_CSMA_RETRIES]          = "NETOPT_CSMA_RETRIES",
     [NETOPT_CSMA_MAXBE]            = "NETOPT_CSMA_MAXBE",
     [NETOPT_CSMA_MINBE]            = "NETOPT_CSMA_MINBE",
+    [NETOPT_MAC_NO_SLEEP]          = "NETOPT_MAC_NO_SLEEP",
     [NETOPT_IS_WIRED]              = "NETOPT_IS_WIRED",
     [NETOPT_DEVICE_TYPE]           = "NETOPT_DEVICE_TYPE",
     [NETOPT_CHANNEL_PAGE]          = "NETOPT_CHANNEL_PAGE",