I've finally decided to do it ... ever since I read about super-programmer Benjamin Nitschke's polyphasic sleep experiment, I've been very curious about it. So I'm taking the plunge ... but I'm not going about it "the usual way".
Everything I've read about polynapping suggests that the first two weeks are very difficult ... both from a social and physical standpoint. I'm going to try and take a different approach. Instead of just going cold turkey on 30 minute naps every 4 hours, I'm going to try and oversleep for a week or so. I'll do this by taking two relatively short naps throughout the day. My guess is that I will find it easier to get up in the morning and start to shift my schedule to start my day around 5 or 6 in the morning.
I suspect that like most of the others I've read about who have tried this, I will find the benefits do not outweight "going against the grain" of society. But I know my body, and I honestly think this might work. Thankfully, I've been blessed with the ability to fall asleep nearly instantly at any time of the day regardless of outside factors like noise or light. If I can sustain this pattern of two naps during the day and a few hours of sleep at night, then I think there might be something to this crazy idea for me :-)