diff --git a/opentelemetry-sdk/src/metrics/periodic_reader.rs b/opentelemetry-sdk/src/metrics/periodic_reader.rs
index 9a720497ca..304b6736dd 100644
--- a/opentelemetry-sdk/src/metrics/periodic_reader.rs
+++ b/opentelemetry-sdk/src/metrics/periodic_reader.rs
@@ -117,9 +117,6 @@ where
 /// return metric data to the user. It will not automatically send that data to
 /// the exporter outside of the predefined interval.
 ///
-/// As this spuns up own background thread, this is recommended to be used with push exporters
-/// that do not require any particular async runtime. As of now, this cannot be used with
-/// OTLP exporters as they requires async runtime
 ///
 /// [collect]: MetricReader::collect
 ///
@@ -160,7 +157,7 @@ impl PeriodicReader {
             mpsc::channel();
         let reader = PeriodicReader {
             inner: Arc::new(PeriodicReaderInner {
-                message_sender: Arc::new(Mutex::new(message_sender)),
+                message_sender: Arc::new(message_sender),
                 is_shutdown: AtomicBool::new(false),
                 producer: Mutex::new(None),
                 exporter: Arc::new(exporter),
@@ -223,6 +220,11 @@ impl PeriodicReader {
                             } else {
                                 response_sender.send(true).unwrap();
                             }
+
+                            otel_debug!(
+                                name: "PeriodReaderThreadExiting",
+                                reason = "ShutdownRequested"
+                            );
                             break;
                         }
                         Err(mpsc::RecvTimeoutError::Timeout) => {
@@ -255,8 +257,13 @@ impl PeriodicReader {
                                 interval_start = Instant::now();
                             }
                         }
-                        Err(_) => {
-                            // Some other error. Break out and exit the thread.
+                        Err(mpsc::RecvTimeoutError::Disconnected) => {
+                            // Channel disconnected, only thing to do is break
+                            // out (i.e exit the thread)
+                            otel_debug!(
+                                name: "PeriodReaderThreadExiting",
+                                reason = "MessageReceiverDisconnected"
+                            );
                             break;
                         }
                     }
@@ -271,6 +278,7 @@ impl PeriodicReader {
         if let Err(e) = result_thread_creation {
             otel_error!(
                 name: "PeriodReaderThreadStartError",
+                message = "Failed to start PeriodicReader thread. Metrics will not be exported.",
                 error = format!("{:?}", e)
             );
         }
@@ -290,7 +298,7 @@ impl fmt::Debug for PeriodicReader {
 
 struct PeriodicReaderInner {
     exporter: Arc<dyn PushMetricExporter>,
-    message_sender: Arc<Mutex<mpsc::Sender<Message>>>,
+    message_sender: Arc<mpsc::Sender<Message>>,
     producer: Mutex<Option<Weak<dyn SdkProducer>>>,
     is_shutdown: AtomicBool,
 }
@@ -374,20 +382,9 @@ impl PeriodicReaderInner {
             return Err(MetricError::Other("reader is shut down".into()));
         }
         let (response_tx, response_rx) = mpsc::channel();
-        match self.message_sender.lock() {
-            Ok(sender) => {
-                sender
-                    .send(Message::Flush(response_tx))
-                    .map_err(|e| MetricError::Other(e.to_string()))?;
-            }
-            Err(e) => {
-                otel_debug!(
-                    name: "PeriodReaderForceFlushError",
-                    error = format!("{:?}", e)
-                );
-                return Err(MetricError::Other(e.to_string()));
-            }
-        }
+        self.message_sender
+            .send(Message::Flush(response_tx))
+            .map_err(|e| MetricError::Other(e.to_string()))?;
 
         if let Ok(response) = response_rx.recv() {
             // TODO: call exporter's force_flush method.
@@ -408,20 +405,9 @@ impl PeriodicReaderInner {
 
         // TODO: See if this is better to be created upfront.
         let (response_tx, response_rx) = mpsc::channel();
-        match self.message_sender.lock() {
-            Ok(sender) => {
-                sender
-                    .send(Message::Shutdown(response_tx))
-                    .map_err(|e| MetricError::Other(e.to_string()))?;
-            }
-            Err(e) => {
-                otel_debug!(
-                    name: "PeriodReaderShutdownError",
-                    error = format!("{:?}", e)
-                );
-                return Err(MetricError::Other(e.to_string()));
-            }
-        }
+        self.message_sender
+            .send(Message::Shutdown(response_tx))
+            .map_err(|e| MetricError::Other(e.to_string()))?;
 
         if let Ok(response) = response_rx.recv() {
             self.is_shutdown