This paper proposes an energy-efficient routing scheme that is based on a resource intensive traffic-aware approach, enabling for the maximization of the energy conservation in cognitive radio networks. The proposed approach interrelates the moments of the backward difference traffic, together with the sleep-time duration, towards tuning the activity periods of the network nodes. The effective operation of the proposed scheme, in terms of minimum energy consumption, minimum delays and maximum number of the routing paths established, is achieved through the exploitation of a signaling mechanism. The validity of the proposed traffic-aware scheme is tested, through several simulation tests, by obtaining multiple performance evaluation results. The experimental results verified the proper operation of the proposed scheme to maximize the energy conservation, optimize the data exchange among the network nodes and minimize the routing delays.