It could be that your suconscious knew that looking at hands is a reality check, and while consciously you did not realize this is a dream but maybe your subconscious knew, and got excited and hyperventilating because when one gets lucid one does. So you kind of skipped the important part of actually realizing it is a dream, but you had what comes before (reality check) and what comes after (excitement). Yes, this was probably close to being lucid, but not quite because for lucidity you do need that important step in between (actually realizing it's a dream).

I recently also have been having almost lucid dreams: in one of my dreams I admired how "vivid" the snow fortress was - I didn't actually consciously think it is a dream, but admiring something as vivid implies a subconscious knowledge of dream state. In another dream recently I knew I could defeat the bad guys using my superior martial arts skills - the dream was non-lucid but the feeling of certain ness, of being in control, of empowerment it reminded me of this emotion in lucid dreams. I in hindsight recognized the emotion as close to lucidity because I had not usually had this kind of emotion in lucid dreams but regularly in non-lucids.

So I think it is possible we both are having non-lucid dreams which are close to lucidity. Lucidity is just around the corner.