diff --git a/Modules/syslogmodule.c b/Modules/syslogmodule.c
index 112b749..6f2a868 100644
--- a/Modules/syslogmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/syslogmodule.c
@@ -100,9 +100,10 @@
 	message = PyUnicode_AsString(message_object);
 	if (message == NULL)
 		return NULL;
+	Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS;
 	syslog(priority, "%s", message);
-	Py_INCREF(Py_None);
-	return Py_None;
+	Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS;
+	Py_RETURN_NONE;
 }
 
 static PyObject *