homeostasis
When you are cold, what does your body do to keep warm? You shiver to warm up your body. When you are too warm, you sweat to release heat. When any living organism gets thrown off balance, its body or cells help it return to normal. In other words, living organisms have the ability to keep a stable internal environment. Maintaining a balance inside the body or cells of organisms is known as homeostasis . Like us, many animals have evolved behaviors that control their internal temperature. A lizard may stretch out on a sunny rock to increase its internal temperature, and a bird may fluff its feathers to stay warm Figure below .