diff --git a/cpu/native/native_cpu.c b/cpu/native/native_cpu.c
index 284cae862b..372b025c4d 100644
--- a/cpu/native/native_cpu.c
+++ b/cpu/native/native_cpu.c
@@ -185,6 +185,9 @@ void thread_yield_higher(void)
     if (_native_in_isr == 0) {
         ucontext_t *ctx = (ucontext_t *)(sched_active_thread->sp);
         _native_in_isr = 1;
+        if (!native_interrupts_enabled) {
+            warnx("thread_yield_higher: interrupts are disabled - this should not be");
+        }
         irq_disable();
         native_isr_context.uc_stack.ss_sp = __isr_stack;
         native_isr_context.uc_stack.ss_size = SIGSTKSZ;