diff --git a/src/timers.cc b/src/timers.cc
index c9d7e583da..2a3d379a93 100644
--- a/src/timers.cc
+++ b/src/timers.cc
@@ -19,12 +19,15 @@
 #include <Shlwapi.h>
 #include <VersionHelpers.h>
 #include <Windows.h>
-#else
+#endif
+
+#if !defined(BENCHMARK_OS_WINDOWS) || defined(__GNUC__) // handles mingw
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <sys/resource.h>
 #include <sys/time.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>  // this header must be included before 'sys/sysctl.h' to avoid compilation error on FreeBSD
 #include <unistd.h>
+#endif
 #if defined BENCHMARK_OS_FREEBSD || defined BENCHMARK_OS_MACOSX
 #include <sys/sysctl.h>
 #endif
@@ -33,7 +36,6 @@
 #include <mach/mach_port.h>
 #include <mach/thread_act.h>
 #endif
-#endif
 
 #include <cerrno>
 #include <cstdint>