diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 617b00cf3..7e65f305a 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ from .utils import (
     std_headers,
     subtitles_filename,
     UnavailableVideoError,
+    InvalidSleepTimeError,
     url_basename,
     version_tuple,
     write_json_file,
@@ -250,10 +251,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
     call_home:         Boolean, true iff we are allowed to contact the
                        youtube-dl servers for debugging.
     sleep_interval:    Number of seconds to sleep before each download.
-                        Accepts range for random sleep in formats:
-                        - <lower limit>to<upper limit>
-                        - <upper limit>to<lower limit>
-                            where limits are in seconds
+    max_sleep_interval Upper bound of number of seconds for random sleep.
     listformats:       Print an overview of available video formats and exit.
     list_thumbnails:   Print a table of all thumbnails and exit.
     match_filter:      A function that gets called with the info_dict of
@@ -1782,6 +1780,8 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             except MaxDownloadsReached:
                 self.to_screen('[info] Maximum number of downloaded files reached.')
                 raise
+            except InvalidSleepTimeError:
+                self.report_error('Invalid argument for sleep')
             else:
                 if self.params.get('dump_single_json', False):
                     self.to_stdout(json.dumps(res))
diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index 2b34bf9c2..309f156da 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -370,6 +370,7 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
         'source_address': opts.source_address,
         'call_home': opts.call_home,
         'sleep_interval': opts.sleep_interval,
+        'max_sleep_interval': opts.max_sleep_interval,
         'external_downloader': opts.external_downloader,
         'list_thumbnails': opts.list_thumbnails,
         'playlist_items': opts.playlist_items,
diff --git a/youtube_dl/downloader/common.py b/youtube_dl/downloader/common.py
index 5c3a5ca06..8747186c5 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/downloader/common.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/downloader/common.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     decodeArgument,
     format_bytes,
     timeconvert,
+    InvalidSleepTimeError
 )
 
 
@@ -345,16 +346,22 @@ class FileDownloader(object):
 
         sleep_interval = self.params.get('sleep_interval')
         if sleep_interval:
-            sleep_interval_lower = sleep_interval.lower()
+            min_sleep_interval = sleep_interval
+            max_sleep_interval = self.params.get('max_sleep_interval')
 
-            if 'to' in sleep_interval_lower:
-                lower_sleep_limit, upper_sleep_limit = map(float, sleep_interval_lower.split('to'))
-                sleep_time = random.uniform(lower_sleep_limit, upper_sleep_limit)
-            else:
-                sleep_time = float(sleep_interval)
+            try:
+                if max_sleep_interval:
+                    sleep_time = random.uniform(
+                        float(min_sleep_interval),
+                        float(max_sleep_interval)
+                    )
+                else:
+                    sleep_time = float(min_sleep_interval)
 
-            self.to_screen('[download] Sleeping %s seconds...' % sleep_time)
-            time.sleep(sleep_time)
+                self.to_screen('[download] Sleeping %s seconds...' % sleep_time)
+                time.sleep(sleep_time)
+            except (ValueError, IOError) as err:
+                raise InvalidSleepTimeError()
 
         return self.real_download(filename, info_dict)
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/options.py b/youtube_dl/options.py
index 18a68867d..290e973d7 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/options.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/options.py
@@ -489,8 +489,14 @@ def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
         help='Work around terminals that lack bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv or fribidi executable in PATH')
     workarounds.add_option(
         '--sleep-interval', metavar='SECONDS',
-        dest='sleep_interval', type=str,
-        help='Number of seconds to sleep before each download.')
+        dest='sleep_interval', type=float,
+        help='Number of seconds to sleep before each download.',
+    )
+    workarounds.add_option(
+        '--max-sleep-interval', metavar='SECONDS',
+        dest='max_sleep_interval', type=float,
+        help='Maximum sleep time for random sleep.'
+    )
 
     verbosity = optparse.OptionGroup(parser, 'Verbosity / Simulation Options')
     verbosity.add_option(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/utils.py b/youtube_dl/utils.py
index f5cd6819b..ad46277a4 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/utils.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/utils.py
@@ -752,6 +752,15 @@ class UnavailableVideoError(Exception):
     pass
 
 
+class InvalidSleepTimeError(Exception):
+    """Invalid sleep time provided exception
+
+    This exception will be thrown when user provides invalid
+    time for sleep in --sleep-interval or --max-sleep-interval.
+    """
+    pass
+
+
 class ContentTooShortError(Exception):
     """Content Too Short exception.