diff --git a/src/backend/storage/lmgr/condition_variable.c b/src/backend/storage/lmgr/condition_variable.c
index 552bdaaf809..730adf1c57f 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/lmgr/condition_variable.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/lmgr/condition_variable.c
@@ -70,10 +70,15 @@ ConditionVariablePrepareToSleep(ConditionVariable *cv)
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * It's not legal to prepare a sleep until the previous sleep has been
-	 * completed or canceled.
+	 * If some other sleep is already prepared, cancel it; this is necessary
+	 * because we have just one static variable tracking the prepared sleep,
+	 * and also only one cvWaitLink in our PGPROC.  It's okay to do this
+	 * because whenever control does return to the other test-and-sleep loop,
+	 * its ConditionVariableSleep call will just re-establish that sleep as
+	 * the prepared one.
 	 */
-	Assert(cv_sleep_target == NULL);
+	if (cv_sleep_target != NULL)
+		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 
 	/* Record the condition variable on which we will sleep. */
 	cv_sleep_target = cv;
@@ -121,16 +126,16 @@ ConditionVariableSleep(ConditionVariable *cv, uint32 wait_event_info)
 	 * allows you to skip manipulation of the wait list, or not met initially,
 	 * in which case preparing first allows you to skip a spurious test of the
 	 * caller's exit condition.
+	 *
+	 * If we are currently prepared to sleep on some other CV, we just cancel
+	 * that and prepare this one; see ConditionVariablePrepareToSleep.
 	 */
-	if (cv_sleep_target == NULL)
+	if (cv_sleep_target != cv)
 	{
 		ConditionVariablePrepareToSleep(cv);
 		return;
 	}
 
-	/* Any earlier condition variable sleep must have been canceled. */
-	Assert(cv_sleep_target == cv);
-
 	while (!done)
 	{
 		CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
@@ -246,7 +251,8 @@ ConditionVariableBroadcast(ConditionVariable *cv)
 	 * prepared CV sleep.  The next call to ConditionVariableSleep will take
 	 * care of re-establishing the lost state.
 	 */
-	ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
+	if (cv_sleep_target != NULL)
+		ConditionVariableCancelSleep();
 
 	/*
 	 * Inspect the state of the queue.  If it's empty, we have nothing to do.